Phantom Cruise
by Spiffilicious
Summary: What would happen if all our favorite fictional characters were put together on a 4 week cruise? Read for some fun times & hilarious plot twists. Includes Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood & Harry Potter. Funny, but angsty at times.
1. Prologue  Shipping Out

**Hey everyone! Thanks for checking out my first fic! It's kind of silly thing that I'm just having fun with so if you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to share! I'm not going through in depth decriptions of every character because I'm fairly certain that most people know them all, but if you want me to clarify on anything, or you're not familiar with a certain character, just ask and I'll do my best.**

**What would happen if all our favorite fictional characters got together? Let's find out- Enjoy! Please let me know what you think so far!**

**xxx**

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**Prologue**

**~Bella~**

I rolled my eyes when Alice danced off with my suitcase full of mysterious items I wasn't allowed to see until we got to our surprise destination. I loathe surprises. Why she and Edward got to be in on absolutely everything and I got nothing was anybody's guess. If I heard the words "it's a surprise!" one more time, I would be in serious danger of fucking somebody's shit up. Probably my own seeing as how I'm the only human in this crowd of rock hard vamps. There's no point in arguing. I sighed. _I am so fucked. _Speaking of fucked, I wonder if Edward, The Super Virgin, plans on…._oh this might not be a bad surprise after all_, I think as I let my thoughts drift to much, much happier places.

**~Sookie~**

"Bill, where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise," he says seductively as he carries my bags out to the rental car.

I follow hastily behind. "Bill Compton, I don't think I can handle anymore of your surprises right now. You slept with Lorena, almost ate me, I found out you have a hidden file on me and my family and then you tell me I have fairy blood. I am _done_ with your surprises."I cock my brow in challenge and realize that I'm standing with my hands placed quite haughtily on my hips just waiting for Bill's reply. Unlike that Bella chick, I am no pushover.

Bill stared guiltily at the ground outside my house for a moment before he looked up readying himself to speak. Unfortunately- or fortunately…whichever- Eric Northman chose that exact moment to fly in with Pam. My heart stuttered a bit and while I tried not to let the effect he had on me show in front of Bill (and most of all, Eric himself), they've both had my blood and I theirs so it was a wasted effort. Eric walked up my moonlit driveway looking like the picture of sex with a slight smile on his face- obviously delighted with my reluctant pleasure at seeing him.

"You and Sookie taking a trip, Bill?" Eric asked while continuing to stare at me like I was the most delicious thing on Earth.

"Bill was just about to tell me where we're going," I said, feigning indifference. I started to turn back to Bill, but Eric interrupted when he handed the two of us tickets with the words "Phantom Cruise" written in bold purple letters across the top. "Plans have changed. We're going here."

I was furious. "I'm not doing another job for you. Eric! After everything, I think I deserve a little break from your vampire bullshit!" Eric continued to look just as calm as ever while I ranted on for a good five minutes about why I wouldn't do whatever it was he wanted me to do now. Bill looked disappointed when I finally shut my mouth long enough for Eric to tell me it wasn't a job; it was a gift. He still owed me for some work I'd done for him previously and he was giving Bill and I a vacation. On a cruise for supes. Alone…mostly.

"You didn't think I'd miss all the fun did you?" he asked smoothly. I scowled on the outside while my insides tied into anticipatory knots. Eric and his ulterior motives.

**~Elena~**

"There's a cruise for vampires?" I asked Stefan incredulously.

He smiled his most devastating smile and explained that it's not just for vampires. "It's for all supernaturals. And their guests, of course." He gives me his romance novel stare- you know, the one that creates a small pool in my panties. As badly as I wanted to go, I almost didn't agree. It doesn't seem like there's anywhere Stefan and I can go to escape all the Mystic Falls drama.

Or Damon.

Speak of the devil. "Did I just hear the word 'cruise'?" Damon asks as he saunters in while buttoning his usual black shirt.

"Yes. _Elena and I_ are going. _Alone_."

Damon narrows his eyes, smirks at Stefan and I just know there's some snappy retort coming. "Not too many puppies or bunnies on the phantom is there?" He didn't give Stefan time to respond before he turned his attention my way, tossing me an ornate silver key. "If you actually want to have some fun, you're always welcome in my cabin."

_Of course_ Damon is going. See what I mean?

I shrug it off, laying the key down on the table next to me while Stefan glares daggers in the back of his brother's head. Damon starts to take his leave and nods his head in my direction while making those sexy, flirty eyes of his. "Elena." I'd swoon if I wasn't strictly team Stefan. He turns to Stefan and makes a deep, exaggerated bow. "Sir Broods-A-Lot" And just like that, he was out the door on his way to break some poor, unsuspecting girl's heart.

Or at the very least, her jugular.

**~Jacob~**

_F my life_.

Seriously. I eyed the ticket with disdain. Billy and Sam were sending me on some bloodsucker cruise just so I could keep tabs on Bella. As if she hasn't stomped on my heart enough, I have to hop on a big ass boat with her and that leech for four solid weeks. Four weeks! Smelling that awful stench and watching my girl kiss a dead guy.

Like I said- F my life.

**~Emmett~**

"Emmett, Bella is on her way over. Don't you dare breathe a word about the cruise. Edward wants to be the one to tell her," Carlisle warned me.

"Sure thing," I grinned at my adopted father. I just want to be there when he does so I can see her face turn red and get all indignant and shit. If anybody can get mad about being given a four week vacation on a cruise, it's Bella.

A cruise….I smile just thinking about it. Rose looks so effing hot in a bikini.

**~Edward~**

"Okay, love…don't get mad," I caution as I back away. If Bella hits me, she'll hurt herself and then she won't have any fun out on the ocean.

"Just spit it out, Edward," she nearly growls at me.

This beautiful, fragile kitten thinks she's a tiger. It's so amazingly adorable that I have to chuckle along with Emmett who is currently having his own bouts with laughter. Seeing my crooked smile makes Bella's heart rate increase audibly and I can see she's softening a little. She stormed in my room only a few seconds ago and demanded that I tell her where we're going. After debating for a while, I decided it would be better to prepare her beforehand if she was going to get so worked up about the matter. She'd be the one and only eighteen year old girl on the face of the planet to have a stroke or heart attack or ridiculously high blood pressure over this. Any number of things could happen to her, breakable as she is. Carlisle warned me before she showed up and suddenly we had an audience. The thought of her angry, red face storming into my room made me snicker under my breath.

"We're going on a cruise," I told her calmly, clearly amused at her and quite happy with myself.

Bella's eyes widen to the size of saucers, her breathing becomes fast and labored as she shouts, "are you insane! We can't go on a cruise! Whatever happened to living inconspicuously among humans? You don't think they'll notice that you sparkle!"

"There aren't going to be any humans on this cruise, love. Except for maybe you, of course." I couldn't help it- I laughed at her expression. I could tell she didn't understand and what human would really? None of them have any idea that the supernatural community has their own cruise line or that there even is a supernatural community for that matter. I explained and once she gathered that we wouldn't be stuck inside all day and I'd be with her every second, she started to relax. I could tell she was still nervous, but now that it was no longer a surprise, I had faith that she would become accustomed to the idea long before we got to the boarding point.

That is, as long as I don't tell her about the dance.

**~Alice~**

"It'll be coming up in exactly three minutes and forty-two seconds." I opened my eyes to look around at the excited faces of my family. Everyone looked eager and ecstatic- everyone except for Bella.

_What is with this girl?_ I thought exasperatedly.

"What's wrong, Bella?" I asked her gently.

Still holding Edward's hand, she leaned her head on my shoulder and sighed. "There's going to be all kinds of supernatural creatures on this ship. All of them faster, stronger and a thousand times more interesting than me. Why am I even going on this thing?" She's so insecure.

"Because Edward can't stand to be away from you for more than five minutes and it'll be fun! You fit in better with a bunch of monsters than you do your own species- can you deny that?" Bella just stares at me and I know I've spoken the truth. "There's no need for you to worry," I assure her.

"I'm a magnet for danger. Of course there's every reason to worry. Don't you think there's going to be other vampires on that ship? Ones that don't have quite the same moral values as you?" Bella asks both Edward and I together.

I wish she'd kept her mouth shut because now Edward will try and get her out of going. I quickly interrupt her tirade. "We'll be there to-"

"Don't tell me you'll be there to protect me! I don't want to ruin your good time with my klutziness or my…humanity. You can't swoop in and save me all the time."

It's quiet for a moment and it's almost like I can read minds now instead of Edward. He's going to tell her that they won't go and she has to- I have plans for us that I really, really don't want to cancel.

"Unless…." Bella says softly, peeking up at Edward through her curtain of mahogany hair.

He scowls. "Not this again. Absolutely not, Bella."

"But why? I can protect myself then and more than that, there won't be a reason for me or anyone else to need to protect me!"

"It takes at least three days to complete the transformation and we're here now. I'm not changing you, you're going on the cruise and I will be there to protect you should you need it. Everytime." The way he said it made it clear that the conversation was over and knowing Bella, she wouldn't just tell Edward to stick a sock in it like she should. I was slightly aggravated with her, but at the same time I could kiss her. Her words spurred Edward on to doing exactly what I wanted- making her go.

I smiled brightly, showing off all my glowing white teeth and clapped my hands quickly together. "Yay!"

**~Rosalie~**

Everyone sped out of the car to get their things. We were all nearly at the boarding point when I noticed that Bella and Edward hadn't even gotten out of the car. Stupid human. She knows she's going so there's no point in holding my brother or the rest of us up. Finally, he gets out and in a blur of speed - at least a blur to Bella's eyes - he grabs their things, scoops Bella onto his back - so she can't escape, probably - and joins us for the rest of the walk down to the pier. There's a gigantic black ship under the white moon, it's reflection floating calmly in the nearly still water below. I smile in anticipation- not for the cruise, but because I know there will be things on this ship that Bella never dreamed of and with any luck, one of them will eat her by tomorrow morning.

**~Damon~**

"I can't believe I've never taken one of these before," I comment aloud to no one in particular, looking at all the beautiful ladies passing me by on the Phantom. There are fairies, vampires, a few humans, sirens- _which I'll be staying the hell away from_. Elena ran off with Saint Stefan as soon as we got here to find their cabin and left me to my own devices. Dangerous thing to do. That's when I saw the blonde…and then the brunette. I smile wickedly to myself as they board. _This is so gonna rock_.

**~Pam~**

Oh look, a big black boat that I don't give a shit about.

I look over at Sookie and silently thank Eric for buying all of her attire for the next month. In those little shorts and that bikini top, I can finally see a little of what the fuss is about. Sure, she can shoot light out of her hands and she smells fucking delicious, but this is one of the few times that I've noticed her and decided she looked delicious, too. Apparently, both Bill and Eric agree because they've managed to put themselves in a Sookie sandwich.

There's some leprechaun in a tail coat taking tickets as we board and I have to smile in amusement as Eric hands him our tickets and we cross the threshold. Behind us, all manner of fictional characters and mythical creatures are beginning their ascent up the dock and I just can't bring myself to care.

Sookie and Bill take off to find their sleeping quarters and I just happened to catch the amused smirk on Eric's face as they hurried away. Of course, he booked them separate rooms. I shake my head at him and head off to see if they've got any strippers or fangbangers or fangbanging strippers on this old piece of wood.

**~Stefan~**

"Nice, huh?" Elena looked around the large candle-lit room at it's mirrored walls, the high ceiling, the bathroom and closet areas arranged to give the maximum amount of space. The last thing her eyes settled on was the large canopy bed covered in a thin layer of soft, black, see through material hung artfully over the fourposter. I was sitting at the edge of that bed letting her take it all in. Her eyes darkened as she agreed that it was, indeed, _nice_. She walked slowly forward, placed her knees on either side of my hips so that she was straddling me as she put her arms around my neck and began to kiss me. I allowed myself to be pushed backwards onto the pillowy surface of the bed and gave in to her entirely.

**~Elena~**

_Bow chicka wow wow_.

**~Esme~**

"This is incredible," I told Carlisle meaningfully while admiring the bright white cabin we would be living in for the next month. We often went on vacations or little getaways, but when Bella entered Edwards life, everyday was so fraught with peril and uncertainty that we abandoned the tradition temporarily to make sure our family was safe. Neither of us minded, but all the same, it was nice to finally be alone together. I wondered if all the children found their rooms, but Carlisle distracted me from this line of thinking with his gentle hands. "Always worrying about them, aren't you?" he asked while taking my face and bringing it closer to his.

"You're right," I breathed. "I'm sure they're fine," I continued before I kissed him in a way I never would have in front of our adopted vampire children.

**~Harry Potter~**

"If Voldemort's on this thing, I'm shanking both of you with my wand," I warned Hermione and Ron after we came aboard The Phantom.

It appeared the loading process was nearly done and we'd be on our way over the vast expanse of the ocean soon enough. "I'm fairly certain Voldemort isn't interested in taking a vacation from silently torturing the wizarding community," Hermione pointed out smartly.

Ron, looking almost as terrified as he looks when spiders are involved added, "exactly. Which is why we need to get off this blasted boat. He's probably planning on blowing it to smithereens. What if he's got a load of inferi at the bottom of this bloody ocean and they launch out and pull us under?"

I just nodded my head. "Thanks for that vote of confidence, Ron. I feel much better."

**~Eric~**

"What a pleasant surprise. Hello, Sookie."

"Why is Bill in a separate room, you jackass?"

"Jackass? Ouch," I reply unruffled.

Sookie stands in that demanding posture of hers. Even before we all knew she was part fairy she acted as if she could take on the whole supernatural community, but throw a little power her way and the girl gets downright cocky. I love it.

"Bill needs a light-tight room, Miss Stackhouse. I simply assumed you'd prefer to see the sun in the mornings rather than being cooped up in a room all alone while Bill rests. Unless you plan on going out while he sleeps and subsequently burning him to ashes. That would be fine by me," I said, giving her a winning smile.

"Don't give me that bullshit. Fix it," she demands before she marches away, passing some dark-haired vampire who eyes her on her way around the corner. I can't really blame him- she does have a nice ass. All the same, I plan to make it clear that she's not available so I give the man a seemingly polite nod and let my fangs descend, exposing them in a toothy grin.

He surprises me by being nearly as unaffected and cocky as I am. He narrows his light blue eyes and walks closer with a smirk on his face as it slowly changes. His eyes become darkened, reddening while the veins around them protrude and become much more pronounced, snaking around underneath his pale skin as his fangs pop out with a snap.

I retract mine with raised eyebrows. "I'm impressed," I acquiesce.

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**So, what didja think? Ideas, suggestions? What do you think should happen now? What do you want to know more about?**

**I won't be switching POVs like that throughout the whole thing- just for the beginning. Unless of course you like that and then I'll try to keep doing it. It just gets a little tedious having to go from one perspective to another so quickly. I'll update as quickly as I can.**

** xxx**


	2. Chapter 1 Introductions

**Stay with me while we get the introductions out of the way, okay? **

**As always, let me know what you think :)**

** xxx**

**Oh yeah, and since I didn't do this last time- I own none of this except the convoluted scenarios that can sometimes pour out of my fucked up brain.**

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**CHAPTER 1**

**~Damon~**

"I have to admit- that fanging thing was pretty badass, but I think I gotcha beat with the veins and all." I lean on the bar carelessly with my arms crossed next to the ridiculously tall vampire sitting at the blood bar. He's abandoned his meal for the evening and she looks slightly affronted.

"Oh, I get it," she nods her head in understanding while eyeing the two of us suggestively and swinging her index finger back and forth between us. She saunters off laughing, holding two fingers over the punctures in her neck - off to find a straight vampire apparently.

"Your dinner is on the run," I point out, all Captain Obvious and shit. The blonde vampire just shrugs, clearly not bothered by this information. "She tasted like processed potted meat and chemical cheese. And she didn't smell much better." I'll definitely be re-thinking my food choices while here.

"That blonde one you were just talking to- don't get all fangy on me again-" I say coolly after seeing his expression. "She with you?"

"Yes."

"So she's yours then?" I ask suspiciously.

"No." He seemed entirely affronted with the notion.

"I didn't think so," I said, pleased with this information.

"But she is here with another vampire from my area," the blonde tells me warningly.

_From your area? What the hell is that?_ I pretend I know what the fuck he's talking about. "Bill. I heard as much." I'm not concerned about _Bill_.

"What's your interest in Miss Stackhouse?" he asks me suddenly. I look at him like he's mentally challenged. He gives a small smile and a nod of his head. "Good luck, vampire. You'll need it with that one," he replies before walking off in the direction that "Miss Stackhouse"disappeared in. What a great name, Stackhouse.

I abandon the bar in search of anything interesting when I feel the boat pulling away from the pier. We're finally on our way and straight up ahead, I see a marvelous moonlit dance floor surrounded with scantily clad belly dancers (I assume they're fairies) swaying to jungle music. How can I pass that up? I grab a scotch from a floating tray of alcoholic deliciousness and join in the throng of dancers. It doesn't take long before my good looks and charm win them all over. I could have taken any one…or two…of them back to my cabin, but, surprisingly, there was no appeal in the thought.

I would have settled for dancing the night away in an inebriated haze, but I saw that lovely brunette again sitting on the sidelines with an uncomfortable, constipated expression. It was obvious she didn't want to be here and her fancy pants boyfriend, rather than taking her somewhere to have some fun, just sat there on the outside of the crowd trying to coax her into dancing. She looked obstinate and stubborn- exactly my type.

I breezed over with my shirt hanging open, pants hanging down on my hips in that way that women seem to find deliriously sexy and a brand new scotch in my hand.

"May I cut in?" I ask her charmingly.

She looks up letting her eyes travel up the expanse of my bare torso and chest, flushing slightly, until she meets my eyes. Then, she says something I'm not expecting. "Aren't you only supposed to say that to couples who are dancing?"

I'm a bit dumbfounded so I sit down on her other side while her boyfriend stares holes in my head, contemplating her question before I realize that there isn't really any way one can cut in when one is just sitting like this. "I guess you're right Miss…" I let my sentence trail off into a question waiting for her name.

"Just Bella. No Miss anything- just Bella."

"Just Bella," I repeat giving her my flirty eyes. Not the ones reserved for Elena- more like the Caroline flirty eyes; the ones that don't mean anything, but still manage to tangle women of every walk of life into my web of sex and self-seeking agenda's.

"Care to dance?" I ask, extending my scotch-free hand.

"I don't dance," she responds hastily and then scoots closer to her boyfriend who's been eyeing me the whole time. He's probably thinking about how much he'd like to throw me overboard. I smile.

"Yes, I am actually." This is the first time he's spoken and I realize - whoever he is - has just answered my thoughts. Un-fucking-believable. I'm a little envious now because that shit is cool as hell.

"Excuse me?" I retort automatically.

"I'm Edward Cullen and I would very much like to throw you overboard," he snaps. And he did it all…formal. He smiles in that backhanded way that people do when they're trying to make polite death threats.

Edward Cullen…why does that name sound familiar? Teenage girls across America (and their mothers) swoon in the background and I realize where I've heard this name before. "Oh! You're the sparkly, virgin vampire!" I laugh. I gesture to Edward and Bella together and make the sound of a whip cracking in his direction. I find it extremely hilarious but Edward "Sparkly Pants" Cullen doesn't seem amused at all. And neither does his girlfriend as she gives me a death stare and sweeps him up to the dance floor.

It only takes me a few seconds to figure out why that Bella chick says she doesn't dance. Edward is constantly keeping her from falling, bumping into other people or otherwise injuring herself and the unfortunate by-standers. Finally, when I feel like I can't stand it any longer (which amounts to about five whole seconds), Edward scoops her up onto his feet and they dance gracefully that way across the floor.

Several minutes pass and then I see Bella leaving the dance floor all flushed and smiling with a very cute, pixie-looking thing. Edward reclaims his seat, presumably to wait for Bella to return. I try to be careful with my thoughts, but I'm not used to being in the company of someone who can hear every damned thing that runs through my head, so when I can't stop thinking an enlightening conversation ensues.

Edward cuts his eyes at me in what is supposed to be a threatening gesture. "I'm not gay," he says through clenched teeth.

"I'm just saying' man- you're a virgin with an exceptionally willing girlfriend that you barely touch, you have this whole formal and gentlemanly bullshit down to a science, you have no fangs and dude, if you haven't noticed- you fucking sparkle."

He smiled then and it looked like it must have been genuine even though I was sure I was about to hear a very well-spoken rebuttal.

"A- the parameters of mine and Bella's sexual relationship is none of your concern, but I assure you, it's benefits both of us to wait. In more ways than one."

_That wasn't chock full of innuendoes at all_, I thought sarcastically in Edwards direction. He made a wry face and continued as if I hadn't spoken…or uh…thought.

"Something I'm sure you know nothing about. B- women seem to find my status as a gentleman particularly charming."

_Meaning 'I'm hotter than you', correct?_

"C- I don't need fangs to kick your ass. D- Women _love_ shiny things."

I realized my jaw was clenched and took a sip of my scotch so as to look unaffected. Not such a brilliant move when you're sitting next to a mind-reader. "Okay, Sparkleworks, you made your made your point." I get up to go back to the dance floor thinking I've got the last word, the upperhand so to speak, when Edward, once again, one ups me like the asshole he is.

"Just because I get the 'My Little Pony' reference doesn't make me a fag. The fact that you just pictured it in perfect detail and clarity, however…." I cut my eyes at him and reluctantly - as well as silently - give him props for not being a complete pussy and go on my carelessly happy, drunken way.

**~Edward~**

"Who was that?" Bella inquired when she returned from the ladies room.

I took in her new war paint, curtesy of Alice, and frowned. It wasn't that she didn't look beautiful - because, honestly, she was always that - it was just that she was more beautiful without all that stuff covering up the smooth skin beneath, preventing me from seeing the full effect when she blushed and more importantly disguising my Bella. My Bella very rarely wore makeup of her own volition.

"That was Damon Salvatore," I answered.

I wrestled with the urge to lick my thumb and begin wiping the smut off her face, but I didn't want her to take offense so I prattled on about unimportant things to distract myself. "He thinks I'm gay." Upon seeing her confused expression, I regaled her with the finer points of our brief conversation.

"Is he…?" Bella asked tentatively.

"No, love. He's actually quite in love with another young woman on this cruise. She's human, incidentally. I'm sorry I lied before. I was under the impression that you'd be the only human aboard considering all the trouble I had to go through to get you a ticket, but clearly, I was mistaken."

"Trouble?" she asked, mystified.

I couldn't take it anymore so I gently took Bella's hand and began leading her back to our room so that I could uncover the natural beauty that is hers and hers alone. We talked as I led the way. "There are very strict rules about these things. There's a 'no humans' policy and to get around that, I paid a not-so-small fortune for your ticket and their feigned ignorance. I also had to tell them…"

I really didn't want to tell her this part. It would get her all fired up and I really didn't want to have this conversation again tonight. By this time, we'd reached the door to our temporary haven.

"Tell them what?" I knew she'd ask. There was no way around that. This is Bella we're talking about. I took my time unlocking the door and getting us inside. Silently, I walked to the bathroom, found a white washcloth and ran some warm water over it. I gestured for Bella to sit on the bed and began wiping her face with it. I was hoping she would ask what I was doing, thereby avoiding the other question she asked me, but she was still and silent; just watching me smooth the warm fabric over her lovely porcelain face. I knew she wouldn't drop it and that she wouldn't forget. I might as well get it over with. "I had to tell them of our plans to turn you," I admit, ashamed.

I wanted Bella to be like me for all the most selfish reasons. It would be easier. I could have her forever. She would be much less breakable. But at the same time, it wasn't what was best for her. I wanted her to have a life. A life that I couldn't give her. A life with children and other normal things. I didn't want her to have to suffer through watching everyone she loved die or having to hurt them by having to pretend she was dead herself. I didn't want to take a single thing away from her life. That's why I was ashamed and Bella knew all this, but still insisted that what she wanted more than anything else was me. Ridiculous because she already had me for as long as she lived. Therein lay her problem. She would eventually get old and die and what happens when everyone sees the ninety year old wrinkled lady french-kissing the seventeen year old boy? _Awkward_.

I should have known Bella would be taking on a whole different line of thought worlds apart from mine. "Will you change me? Here?" she asked eagerly. Eagerly!

I was finally finished cleaning her face and I threw the washcloth across the room. It hit the vanity with a moist slapping sound that vibrated the mirror and left a few droplets on the silvery surface.

"I guess that's a no then," Bella grumbled.

I took her in my arms and lifted her off the bed just long enough to position myself underneath her so she'd be sitting in my lap. With my arms wound as carefully and as securely around her as I could manage without crushing every bone in her tiny body, I whispered, "isn't it enough that I've already promised to make you a monster? Let's not rush it, love." I kissed the top of her head and she let out a small sigh that told me the matter was closed at least for the evening. I was sure she could hear the torture in my voice with the previous statement and that was what was responsible for her letting it go so easily.

I wasn't dumb enough to think it wouldn't come back up tomorrow. With Bella, if it's not "fuck me" it's "kill me".

**~Bill~**

Sookie came back still in a temper with Eric. His booking us separate rooms was exactly like him and she was well aware of that, so why it was frustrating her so badly, I could only guess. I was fairly certain my guesses were dead on, no pun intended. She had feelings for Eric. Whether blood induced or not, she didn't like it. And she did like it at the same time. She was confused and it made her angry with herself. She wanted to have feelings for me and me alone, but with the blood bond to Eric, it was difficult for her to tell which feelings were really hers and which ones were brought on by the bond. In effect, she resisted all feelings for Eric and was snippier with him than usual.

The unfortunate part was that she was not any more pleasant with me either. After all the things that I've put her through, both intentional or otherwise, I can't blame her. I wanted to take her for a weekend away to a place where she and I could be completely alone and get to know each other again, but then Eric had to fuck everything up with his "vacation." I've told myself countless times that it does not matter. That Sookie and I will have a good time regardless. But, there's no telling what kind of calamitous events will occur when you mix Eric with large quantities of other supernatural creatures. I've seen at least ten fairies on this ship since we boarded and I haven't even seen the whole thing. Fairies smell incredibly intoxicating to a vampire. One would not want to witness the kind of feeding frenzy that occurs when one of us comes into contact with a full-blooded fairy.

Thinking of feeding frenzies reminded me of the sign I saw on the way to the room. A formal dinner is served every evening and I thought it might be a good way to distract Sookie from her momentary anger issues.

"We must go down to dinner in ten minutes, Sookay!" I call to her from outside the bathroom door.

"Don't get your panties in a wad. I'm comin''!" she snaps.

I realize she's on edge so there's nothing to do but shake my head and smile at the door to the woman I love on the other side.

She opens the door a few moments later and she looks stunning in a sleeveless, white cocktail dress with a black satin ribbon tied around her at the waist. It's simple and it's perfect. I smile and hold out my arm, complimenting her as she takes it. Once we're outside in the warm night air, she begins to relax a bit and enjoy the view of the stars reflecting off the never-ending sea. It's a quiet, leisurely walk to the dining area, but once we get there, it's nearly full. The leprechaun in the tail coat checks our names and guides us to two empty seats, making sure - at my complete and utter displeasure - to place Sookie in the seat right next to Eric.

Across from us, it looks as if there's some other unfortunate vampire with a similar quandary as I take in the expressions of the three people seated directly in front of us. One is a lovely female and on either side of her, there is a man. One looks completely at ease with black hair and blue eyes while the other, dark hair and green eyes, looks as if he may need medical attention of the white coat variety.

Beside me sits another brunette who seems to be accompanied by a whole throng of vampires. She chats animatedly with a few of them, but it's clear that they're all together judging by the golden eyes they all have in common.

On the other side at one end, it looks as if there are some children seated at our table, but upon closer inspection, I notice that they each have wands. Wizards.

_I'll be damned_, (pun intended) I thought in shock. _It's Harry Potter_.

This is bound to be an interesting evening.

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**So what do you think happens next? Click that little review button and tell me your thoughts :D**

**Next update as soon as I can. ;)**


	3. Chapter 2 Magical Roofies

**I thought I should clarify a few things before I begin this chapter. If you already know all the characters/have read the books/seen the shows or movies then feel free to skip this little mini history lesson, but if there are things you're not familiar with, I wanted to be able to keep you in the loop as much as possible without making you have to read an entire book just to keep up on one character. Everyone I've talked to/gotten messages from seems to be familiar with the Twilight characters so in the interest of saving time, I'm skipping over those and Harry Potter because, seriously- who doesn't know Harry Potter by now? Also, read at your own risk because this is probably going to be chock full of spoilers. You have been warned.**

**The True Blood Characters are as follows:**

**Sookie Stackhouse**

**Bill Compton**

**Eric Northman**

**Pam Whateverthehellherlastnameis**

**Sookie is a telepath who has recently discovered she has fairy blood. Her current lover is vampire Bill Compton, but they've had an entire saga's worth of relationship issues that would take too long to explain here and she's sort of involved with Eric Northman (or rather he wishes she was) who is essentially Bill's totally badass and amazingly hot 1,000 year old viking vampire boss. They've shared blood which means they're bonded meaning both Eric and Bill know what she's feeling, where she is and if she's in trouble at all times. Pam is Eric's progeny (meaning he created her) and she's only in the story solely for entrainment value. She has serious lesbian tendencies and is apathetic about almost everything. I heart Pam :) These vamps are more traditional- they can't come out during the day, they're scarier than Twilight vamps, ect. They can feed on people, but because of a synthetic blood (called True Blood) that's been created, it's no longer necessary. Oh and "Fangbangers" are humans who like to have sex with vampires and volunteer to be bitten by them.**

**All that^^^ is owned by Charlaine Harris (And the writers of True Blood) because if I owned it, I would certainly know it and I'd be rich and married to Alexander Skarsguard (who plays Eric on the show), thank you very much.**

**The Vampire Diaries Characters are as follows:**

**Damon Salvatore**

**Stefan Salvatore**

**Elena Gilbert**

**Damon & Stefan Salvatore are daywalking vampires only because they have special rings that were bewitched by their creator's (Katherine- she may appear later) magically inclined hand-maiden in the 1800's. Damon & Stefan were both in love with Katherine, but she played them both in ways that are too complex to explain in a paragraph. Elena looks exactly like Katherine (apparently they are very distantly related) and Elena falls in love with Stefan, the good brother. Think of him somewhat like Edward Cullen. He's brooding, tortured, incredibly handsome and ridiculously sweet and only survives on the blood of animals. The badass brother, Damon (who I looooooove) also harbors feelings for Elena (of course. What would a vampire story be without a good love triangle?) but feeds on humans and delights in his more sinful nature. But don't be turned off by that very brief and inadequate description- The only thing he ever wanted was to have Katherine back so all the bad things he's done were-in his mind- in the name of love.**

**^Owned by L.J. Smith, the author and the writers of the show^**

**In the future, if I feel something needs to be explained, I'll mark it with a * and explain at the end of the chapter. If you read this entirely-too-long-bit-of-babbling…Bless you :) You can always PM me with questions if you like.**

**xxx**

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**Chapter 2**

**~Harry Potter~**

"Why is that old, slightly unbalanced looking bloke staring at me?" I covertly whisper to both Hermione and Ron. Ron is too busy ogling what I'm guessing are sirens to even notice that I've spoken and Hermione, even as she fumes in Ron's direction is - as always - completely aware of the situation and tries to give me a logical and intelligent response.

"Either he recognizes you or he's hungry because I'm fairly certain that's a vampire."

"Vampire?" I choke.

Hermione looks at me like I'm touched in the head. "Honestly, Harry! We're wizards. You didn't possibly think that wizards and magic can exist, but not vampires?"

_Hermione_. She has an uncanny ability to make me feel like the dumbest person in a room and that's saying something considering I'm sitting right next to Ron who's currently drooling in ribbons over an empty plate in regard to a woman standing ten feet away wearing what looks to me to be a tablecloth and some rope. "I don't know, Hermione. I've never really thought about it before," I admit. Feeling a bit indignant I can't help but add, "maybe I was so caught up in the fact that the world's most vile and evil wizard is out to kill me the same way he killed my parents. That's bound to cloud any thoughts about whether or not vampires exist, don't you think?"

Hermione looks hurt only for a few seconds before she pulls her expression into one of contrition and whispers a hurried, "I'm sorry" as another one of those weird leprechaun guys comes forth holding a glass of water and a spoon. Really, they're not as ugly as goblins, but surely they're in the same family? Cousins, maybe, considering the height. I think goblins are quite possibly the product of in-breeding.

The leprechaun-goblin-cousin climbs onto a raised platform in the middle of the room to garner everyone's attention by tapping the spoon against the glass. Apparently, they _don'_t only do that at weddings. "Attention. Attention please." The little green, bearded man looks as if he's getting ready to say something exceedingly important and waits until a complete silence has fallen upon the room and he holds everyone's rapt attention. Then, he spreads his stumpy little hands out in a grand gesture and quietly, but imperiously says, "dinner is served." Naturally, that's what he'd say, right?

Immediately, more little green men come out of every entrance in the room carrying silver trays laden with every type of edible - and some not so edible - product you can imagine. As if by magic, they glided the trays to exactly the right person or creature. Vampires got blood, humans got food and I even saw a minotuar being brought some kind of live and incredibly large wild animal. Those goblin-leprechaun crossbreeds are pretty strong. Maybe I'll call them "Goblichauns" from now on. I rather like that, Goblichauns.

I notice the blonde girl sitting by the vampire that was staring at me earlier eyeing the minotaur with utter disgust and possibly a hint of fear in her eyes before a tray of battered and fried foods is placed gently in front of her. She says "thank you" to the Goblichaun and I distinctly hear an American southern accent in her voice. I should have known- there's enough grease on that plate to power a hybrid car.

Hermione, Ron and I are served all kinds of things like Bubble and Steak, Toad-in-the-Hole and even good old fish and chips. It's a marvelous dinner and I think by the end of it each of us must have eaten a week's worth of food. Throughout the dinner, most mouths are too busy chewing and/or swallowing to do too much conversational hurtling, but after the meals are mostly finished, people begin introducing themselves and conversation commences loudly and enthusiastically while a flood of goblichauns swiftly and silently remove the empty plates.

The unbalanced vampire introduces himself to me as 'Bill' and I immediately find this amusing because - seriously- Bill? Vampire Bill? My brain to mouth filter isn't functioning so I say as much and it surprises me a little when he doesn't try to fang me. He simply says, "I get that all the time" in a very formal southern accent. After talking with him for a time, I find he does know who I am surprisingly and - also surprising - he's quite nice while the big blonde vampire he's with, I find rather intimidating and frightening.

Hermione clearly doesn't share this opinion as she sat through most of her dessert staring at him and sighing whenever he looked in her direction. I'm sure he heard her and much enjoyed the attention because he kept winking and smiling at her. I wanted to point out that no matter how young he looks, he's old enough to be her great-great-great-several-times-over grandfather, but getting scolded and possibly slapped in the back of the head didn't seem an appealing end to my evening so I kept my mouth shut.

What I did find interesting if not outright entertaining - when I finally noticed it, that is - was the pretty blonde with Bill and the bloke with the golden eyes constantly glancing at each other during dinner and then, afterwards, openly gawking at one another. At first, I thought I could sense some kind of definite drama unfolding and in that case, I would have had to retire from dinner early, but as it turns out, they're both telepaths. They were silently exchanging their life stories while their partners sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence, obviously worried what the content of their significant others' conversation entailed. Insecure much?

Eventually, the girl whose name I learned was Bella, moved over closer to Vampire Bill so that golden-eyes and blondie could "chat" without having to lean over anyone else. They got to talking in no time and swapped horror stories with words in them I couldn't even begin to understand. I caught some things like "maenad", "fairy blood", "werewolf" and something called a "volturi", but even Vampire Bill didn't know what that was. I heard Bella explain that a Volturi was apparently a group of nearly royal vampires that kept everyone else in check and she was audibly surprised that Vampire Bill didn't know anything about them. He educated her on vampire kings and queens and sheriffs. Who knew vampires walked around with boots, cowboy hats and badges?

Admittedly, I didn't hear much of that conversation because I couldn't stop staring at the blonde beauty that was sitting by some big burly vampire. He called her Rose, which seemed appropriate since she was so beautiful and no, I don't care how gay that sounds.

Did I mention that there are way too many vampires at this table? All the other tables were full of fairies, sirens, minotaurs, leprechauns, nymphs, talking animals and other such creatures, but we had to get stuck at a table with the undead. _Bloody Super_.

I didn't have time to worry about it much, however, because that's when the music started and everyone started pairing off to dance or "take a walk". Hermione even managed to pry Ron away from his food- yes, he was still eating- to dance with her. She was especially careful not to take him too close to any sirens.

I was left alone at the table with some dark haired guy, the blonde girl and the vamp with the weird eyes who were still "talking"- which, by the way, is really awkward to witness because they kept laughing for no apparent reason and their body language was the same as if they'd been talking aloud. I sat there for what seemed an immeasurable amount of time feeling like a complete arse and saying absolutely nothing before some big Indian guy came in very late dressed in only a pair of cut off shorts. I automatically take notice of my thin and gangly physique in comparison with Mr. Abs. Once again, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm feeling completely inadequate and I briefly consider lifting weights.

Abs walked right up to our table not wasting any time and demanding information. It was the first time I'd seen weird eyes make a move to acknowledge someone else since he and blondie started having their little party for the telepathically inclined.

"Bloodsucker," Mr. My Abs Are Better Than Yours So I have To Flaunt Them By Walking Half-Naked Everywhere I Go said in the way of a greeting.

"Dog," replied the bloodsucker. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you don't kill Bella. Where is she, by the way- while you're sitting here making eyes at some blonde?" No one missed the accusation in the larger boy's tone or the ridged posture that the vampire assumed at the mention of him killing Bella.

Suddenly I found myself thinking that a fight sure would make this whole thing a lot more interesting.

"This is Sookie. She's a telepath and Bella is with Bill Compton."

"And just who the hell is Bill Compton?" the other boy demands to know.

Bella's boyfriend just smiles smugly and says, "another vampire."

"Sonofamothercocksucker-!" the big guy exclaims as he goes running off, presumably to find Bella. On his way out the door I distinctly hear him muttering something about "-doesn't trust me with her, but he'll send her off with a bloodsucking leech."

"Edward, it was real nice talkin' with you tonight, but I reckon you better go find your girlfriend," Sookie says out loud, probably for the benefit of those of us still at the table who've been out of the loop for so long.

"She's fine. They're out on the deck, but I guess I'd better go mediate so your boyfriend doesn't kill Jacob. Although, my feelings wouldn't be hurt if he did."

From the look on his face I can almost see Edward picturing Jacob's throat being ripped out. I don't miss it when his eyes flicker to mine for a nano-second and the almost imperceptible curving up of his lips, as if to confirm my thoughts.

"It was wonderful meeting you, Sookie." Edward stands and makes a slight bow in her direction.

"Send Bill back for me, would ya?" she says brightly.

"Certainly." He nods his head slightly in my direction and then at the dark-haired one. "Harry. Wish we would have had more time to talk. Next time, hopefully. Damon." And just like that he's gone.

"Goddammit!" Damon exclaims for no reason that I can see.

Both Sookie and I, startled, turn our heads in his direction.

"That bastard. Did you see that?" He points in the direction Edward just left in. Sookie and I glance at each other and nod our heads infinitesimally. I'm still wondering what this guy's problem is while Sookie has a slight smile on her face. Why is it that I'm surrounded by all these people with incredible extra abilities and all I get is a bloody wooden stick?

"He can run. That smooth-talking, pretentious bastard of a vampire can fucking run."

"FAST!" he adds incredulously, as if we're not intelligent enough to have caught that on our own. "Faster than me. The telepathic, _glittery _fucking vampire runs faster than me and I'm older by at least fifty years!"

He lost me on the glittery part. What in the bloody hell is that all about? He sits and fumes for a few moments while Sookie explains what Damon meant, but I can tell she's distracted by something she's heard that I haven't quite caught on to yet.

"What do you mean he horns in on your girl? I am not yours by any stretch of the imagination and Edward didn't 'horn' in on anything. He's madly in love with Bella and I'm with Bill. We just happen to share a particularly difficult set of circumstances, which has nothing whatsoever to do with you!"

I'm definitely missing something here.

"Difficult circumstances? Oh I see, because it must be so hard to know what everyone around you is thinking," Damon responds cynically.

"Don't you even pretend you know anything about what it's like to have everyone's darkest secrets come barreling at you for no reason at all. You don't have a clue what it's like inside my head!"

"Or your dress, unfortunately," Damon responds coolly, crinkling his eyes at the corners a bit and curving his mouth up in a two-millisecond long smile.

Sookie leans effortlessly over the wide table and slaps Damon so hard that it seems to reverberate through the room. For one small second, I see the inside of her hand light up as if she just hit him with an electric bolt. Brilliant. He recoils from the slap so quickly and violently that his chair flies backward and he almost lands on the ground.

Almost.

The bloody bastard manages to catch himself and he even manages to grab the chair before it clatters to the ground. He sits the chair back upright and looks at Sookie with shock and excitement in his eyes, obviously not the least bit bothered by the fact that she just electrocuted him. Not giving him time to respond, Sookie speeds off in that dramatic way that women tend to be partial to.

By the time I look back at Damon, he's straightened his clothes and looks just as calm and casual as ever. Ron and Hermione return just as Damon is leaving and on his way by he claps my back - gently for him, but hard enough to almost push me out of my chair.

"You know" he trails off making his this-just-occured-to-me-and-I-have-to-tell-now-even-though-I-haven't-thought-it-all-the-way-through-yet face. "You could be one badass vampire wizard. Imagine how easy Voldemort would be to take down if he can't use the killing curse on you because you're already dead."

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a compliment or a death threat. He winks and gives me that two-second smile before doing this flirty eye thing in Hermione's direction. I'd never seen Hermione forget how to breathe until that moment and Ron looked like he might have been a bit constipated. I was just jealous. If I could do that, I wouldn't need to be 'the chosen one' to get a date.

Just as my friends and I are about to leave, we hear a series of boisterous crashing noises, followed by a deep howling, some snarling and then two creatures bursting through the wall into the dining area. One looks to be a reddish-brown wolf and the other is moving in a blur of motion so fast that I can't tell who he is. In the background, I'm hardly aware of the fact that there's possibly more than one high-pitched female scream emanating from the direction of the broken wall. Everyone who was dancing or had taken a walk out to the deck is magically there to see the show. Damon is back standing next to another pretty brunette girl who's clinging to what must be another vampire. I'm sure that it isn't Bella because I can see her standing in the new entrance that's just been ripped out of the wall. I assume the vampire fighting the wolf must be Vampire Bill because I can see Edward now, carrying Bella off to what he probably thinks is a safer place. A second later, he's back and he jumps in the fight with the wolf and Vampire Bill. I can make nothing of his form out because he's moving so fast that he isn't even making a blur. It's like he's not even there at all. I peek over at Damon just in time to see him rolling his eyes. My attention is called back to the fight by something white flying towards me. Threat of decapitation is imminent. As it zooms passed my head, I'm aware that it's an arm. Hermione screams, grabs hold of Ron - who even in the mist of all this calamity still manages to look smug about that fact - and then looks at me as if begging me to do something.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Harry Potter here. Chosen One. Great wizard, blah, blah, blah - all that rubbish. _Bloody hell_, I think in irritation as I raise my wand and shout "impedimenta!"

The ball of action freezes with the wolf half rolling over, his upper back closest to the table they were half a second from crashing into, but still not touching it. His bushy tail is curved upwards in the air and his hind legs outstretched in a kicking position. Directly above his clawed feet is Vampire Bill who has his fangs bared and one hand clasping around the enormous wolf's muzzle. I notice he's missing his other arm. Both are scratched up and bloody with huge gashes on nearly every surface of their bodies. Edward is positioned on his back, hovering in the air directly between the two. The only part of his appearance that is the slightest bit out of place is his hair and his clothes that were each clearly blowing from the speed at which he was traveling. *There are a few spots of blood on his white shirt, but somehow, I'm sure it's not his own. There's not a single other mark on his body and it's obvious he's been running interference between the two creatures, trying to keep them away from one another. One hand is outstretched towards Bill while the other is going for the wolf's throat. I imagine more of Bill's body parts might have been separated from him had Edward not been jumping in between, slowing and confusing them both. Everyone is completely still and silent, staring intently back and forth between me and the scene before them. I'm entranced as well, but I'm also the first to come to my senses.

"Well, alright then. Show's over. Let's get this mess cleaned up." And just like that, the room is a frenzy of motion.

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***"There are a few spots of blood on his shirt…not his own". Twilight fans are probably aware of this, but Stephenie Meyers' vampires don't bleed since they're pretty much made out of solid stone. If Edward was hurt (and he wasn't) it would be more like cracking a brick than slicing skin.**

**So….review? Let me know what you think :D And possibly what you think might have happened to make the fight take place or anything you might be curious to know more about. Hopefully I can update again over the weekend. We shall see :P**

**Thanks for reading! xxx**


	4. Chapter 3 Bloody Blissful

**Note: I own nothing except the nonsense fuckery that comes out of my own deflicted head. **

**Now, having said that- welcome to chapter 3! **

**I'm thrilled that people are actually reading this! Before you get started, please note that it might get a little dark in some places, but it won't last because this is ultimately is not an angsty type of fic. But, ya can't enjoy the sunny days without having some rainy ones so...yeah. **

**As for the fight between Jacob, Bill and Edward- it is explained in a round about way in this chapter, but you should get a better, more detailed explanation later :) **

**All in time, Kay? So, let me know what you think!**

**xxx**

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**Chapter 3**

**~Bella~**

I wanted to scream! I couldn't believe Edward was being such an overprotective, controlling ass. Okay, that's a lie- I totally could believe it. Not the "ass" part because I would never classify Edward as being an ass. I knew he thought that everything he did was to benefit me. His every action, word and thought was with me in mind. I felt the same way about him, but he had this tendency to overreact, to go with the more theatrical side of his nature. It was seriously starting to bug the shit out of me. I was standing there watching this fight, worrying about Bill, worrying about Jacob and then Edward has to intensify my worry a hundred times when he decides to jump in it!

And then he wouldn't even let me stay and watch so that I would know what was going on. He took me to some creepy-but-amazingly-hot blonde-haired vampire named Eric (who never even looked at me because he was too busy eyefucking Sookie) and asked - no, _ordered _- him not to let me out of his sight until he came back and to make sure that I didn't get anywhere near the fight.

First of all, I'm dying with worry. What if something happens to Edward? What if Bill kills Jake? What if Edward kills Jake?

Jake has a certified Alpha Male Complex that causes him to believe he can take on vampires. That suggests he has a massive brain injury that requires aggressive and immediate medical attention, but because he's in denial that he's not actually Jack Dawson: King of the World, he began fighting two vampires rather than one.

Fucking brilliant, Jake! Bravo! I'll send a note and a fruit basket to your room thanking you for the panic attack.

Second of all, why did he leave me with some vampire I don't even know? Surely he wouldn't have done that without knowing that he wouldn't hurt me? I know the minuscule bit of information that Bill told me about Eric being his sheriff and I know that he isn't opposed to feeding off of human blood. That last part has me a little worried, but mostly just curious as to what I smell like to him and I'll be damned if he isn't too tall and intimidating for me to work up the courage to ask.

I kept thinking most of the time, "this is bullshit, this is bullshit" and then it hit me! Eric never acknowledged my existence; not even once. He leaned against the rail of the boat with his arms crossed over his delicious chest (God, I need to get laid) just watching Sookie and paying me absolutely no attention. It was obvious that Eric didn't give a shit what I did and that I was sitting there of my own accord. Not because I had no choice- because Edward said so.

How fucked up is that? Why am I always doing what he says?

Because I love him.

_Oh…that was easy. _

I was scared there for a minute- I thought I was on the verge of some feminist epiphany. Whew! Glad that's over!

I sat there with Eric, the pining-in-a-sexy-way alphavamp, until I noticed Edwards frozen body come floating out of the dining room. My first thought was "what the fuck!" and then I saw Harry Potter and his friends behind him all holding wands up and levitating Edward, Bill and Jacob. Harry stopped and explained to me that they were trying to get everyone in their rooms before they undid the spell and asked if I could lead the way to mine and Edward's cabin. On the way he asked me where Jake's was, but I really had no idea. I didn't even know he was on the boat until he ran up on me and Bill out on the deck.

Long story short- he started his whole 'vampires are bloodsucking monsters' spiel, Bill tried to be calm and civil, Jake was less than courteous, words passed, fists flew, Jacob morphed into a giant wolf and the barbarian behavior ensued. And apparently, Harry Potter came to the rescue.

We made a sort of convoy to our room so we could get Edward settled first and then they left to get the others back to their rooms. The plan was not to undo the spell until everyone was safely locked away with their mates to help prevent anymore caveman behavior.

I had a little while to wait while they found everyone's proper places so I went to go get changed and brush my teeth while I waited for my vampire honey to wake up so I could be mad about the fact that I can't smack the shit out of him for making me worry and leaving me out because I would be the only one getting hurt in that scenario. I changed into some white silk lingerie that Alice packed for me. Nothing too scandalous, just a tank top and shorts outfit, but it was surprisingly very cute. I brushed my teeth, washed my face all the while thinking.

Always about the same thing. I cannot wait to be a vampire.

Edward thinks he's doing all these wonderful things for me and I get it- I really do. But, all it's really doing is making me want to be a vampire even more. I can't have normal arguments with him because he takes my breath away and makes me incoherent, not to mention the fact that he's made of stone and I'm made of blood and bones. Blood, by the way, that it physically hurts him not to drain out. I _hurt_ him by being human. I can't be with him in the one way that I'm looking forward to more than anything else because he's terrified that he'll hurt me or worse, kill me. Death by Edward sex doesn't sound so bad to me, but I'd never say that to him. He'd probably tie me up somewhere after that.

I put down my toothbrush and walk back to the bedroom to wait for Edward to come back to life - or undeadliness or whatever the hell - thinking that tying me up definitely has possibilities, but Edward's plans and mine wouldn't match up, I'm sure. This being human thing is continuously unhealthy for me. Not only am I always in danger of something, I trip over my own two feet, I'm increasingly angry and depressed over my impasse with Edward and my mind is constantly in the gutter. Once again, I'm thinking about how badly I want to get laid. See what I mean?

Now, I'm sitting on the bed right beside Edward and dammit he looks so sexy all laid back the way he is. His arms are stretched out in two different directions, but otherwise he's in the perfect position for me to just climb up and lay my head on his chest.

Or…

The wheels in my ever-perverted head start rolling, my breathing hitches with excitement and I wonder how much time I have before Edward starts moving again. I inch closer to him, placing my hand on his chest. The top two buttons of his white shirt are already undone. What's the harm in undoing the other three or four? I can't stand the thought of taking the time to get all those buttons out of those tiny holes with my shaky hands so I do something I've been dying to do since the day I laid eyes on Edward. I take his shirt in both hands and rip it apart, buttons flying everywhere so that his smooth, muscled body is exposed. I run my hands down the icy planes of his perfect chest, to his chiseled abs and…stop.

I glance downward getting ideas and visions in my head. I can't help but wonder since Edward is like stone….does that mean he's always hard? I consider undoing the buttons of his trousers to find out, but horny as I am, I can't bring myself to do that to Edward. When the fuckery fairy finally decides to bless me with hard, shiny Edward penis, it will be voluntary and consensual on both our parts- not while he's frozen like the most perfect dildo in the existence of the universe.

To stop myself from doing any of these crazy schemes I've cooked up in my head in the last ten seconds, I lay down and snuggle up close to Edward, putting my head on his chest like I wanted to do in the first place. And then I scoot closer. And closer because it feels like I just can't get close enough. Before I know it, I'm top of him in thin silk pajamas that allow me to feel absolutely everything. I can smell his intoxicating scent, run my fingers through his hair and hell, I can even wrap my legs around his waist because his back is arched off the bed a tiny bit. I'm tempted, but I forego that last one thinking that might be considered vampire date rape or something. I force myself - and oh my God, is it hard, no pun intended- to get off of Edward and just lay beside him with my arms around his smooth, cold skin and my head on his chest like the good, innocent girl that I am. With any luck, when he wakes up he'll be disoriented, see his shirt is open, me lying here in very little clothing and proceed to ravage me.

But, as previously discussed between Edward and I in Twilight- I don't have that kind of luck.

**~Edward~**

Being immobilized is fascinating when you've lived for as many years as I have. Your body stops moving, but your brain keeps functioning perfectly. I could still hear, see and feel everything.

Including Bella.

On top of me.

I could tell she was vacillating between aggravation and worry from the time that she saw me hovering out of the dining room to the moment Harry placed me on the bed and left us alone. I heard the bathroom door close, water running, the scrubbing of a toothbrush, Bella gargling and the sound of silk sliding against satin skin. I was able to see Bella a bit when she sat down on the bed beside me and I noticed that her "pajamas" were quite see through. She wasn't wearing a bra. If I had my mobility, I would have averted my eyes, but as it was, there was nothing to be done. I could think of millions of teenage boys across the world who would give anything to be able to use that excuse. "I'm sorry, babe. I can't stop staring at your tits because Harry Potter froze my face." Yeah….right. So I tried to enjoy it guilt-free while it lasted.

She was driving me wild just sitting there beside me, but I'm guessing that wasn't enough for her since she started running her fingers along my chest. It felt incredibly good. Then, she completely took me by surprise and ripped my shirt off! There's no way I ever would have allowed that in any other circumstances and I'm positive she knew that and was taking advantage while she could. I relished in the feel of her hands sliding down my chest, over my stomach and I started to get a little nervous wondering how far she was willing to go with this little experiment. I might be "bizarrely moral" as she puts it, but I'm still a man and half of me was hoping she'd continue with the treasure hunt while the other half of me loathed myself for even having the thought. That was no way for either of us to experience the joy of giving ourselves to the other.

Bella's thoughts, for once, seemed to be in line with mine and she laid down beside me placing her perfect head of soft mahogany hair on my bare chest. I was thinking of how incredible and breathtaking that lovely creature beside me was when I felt her scooting closer. It didn't take long before she was right on top of me and I could see _everything_.

She was not only braless, she was sans panties, as well and her silk shorts were just that- short. And thin and they hugged the curves of her hips like they were made for her and her alone. _For the love of all that is holy_, I thought I was going to combust just from feeling her sitting on me.

She ran her hands over my body, but when she leaned forward to place her fingers in my hair it was almost enough to make me overcome the immobilization charm on my own. Her body was pressed almost completely up against mine, her smooth, bare legs threatening to wrap around my waist and her scent- the smell of her hair, her breath, her throat- was all _right there_. If I had ever been stupid enough to let things get this far with us before, I don't think I could have stopped myself from taking her one way or another. Somehow I'm convinced that I would have chosen her body over her blood seeing as I could feel every inch of her through the silk and I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around her and make her mine in every way imaginable. My conscience was malfunctioning, but other parts of my body were ready to take up the slack in any way they could.

That's when she raised up - she didn't even kiss me, for which I was gravely disappointed - and laid back down wrapping her arms around me. She felt tense for a moment or two after, but when she did finally relax, she snuggled up and threw her left leg over me causing the already short shorts to look more like underwear which did nothing to alleviate the overwhelming sexual desire I was not doing so well at battling. Being unable to move certainly did help the situation tremendously, but what about when my mobility returned? Would I have control over where my limbs landed when that happened? Because if I didn't, I was risking Bella getting hurt or seriously taken advantage of, although I'm sure she wouldn't see it that way as fixated as she was on getting me naked.

I thought, at the time, that it couldn't be much longer before the spell was undone and so I tried to brace myself for the moment when I would be able to move freely again so that I could stop anything that might be potentially dangerous, but Bella had me so crazy that I couldn't focus. Imagine that- all these extra sharp senses and I couldn't focus. I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating: this girl was going to be the death of me.

I thought I would try to reach out and find Harry's mind so that I would be prepared when he got ready to undo the spell so I stopped focusing so much on Bella's leg being thrown over me - the way I wanted it for the rest of forever - and put most of my effort into Operation Find The Wizard. It was entirely too easy and so I was able to go back to fantasizing about ravaging Bella more quickly than I would have liked. Or at least more quickly than the side of me that was thinking rationally would have liked. When the time came, I heard Harry's counter-spell before he even spoke it aloud and when my motor skills returned, I flipped over on top of Bella so fast I'm absolutely certain she didn't see it or feel it before I had one hand behind her head and the other around her waist.

It was only twenty-seven seconds from the time she laid down and threw her leg over me, but it felt torturously prolonged to me.

I immediately kissed her with an intensity that surprised even me. It was passionate, desperate and forceful. Bella didn't seem to mind in the least as she was kissing me in return with as much vigor as she could manage. Before I knew it her legs were around my waist just the way part of me wished for them to be only a minute before. The friction was unbelievably fantastic and only spurred me even more out of control. This was not the Edward Cullen that Bella was accustomed to. It wasn't even the Edward that I, myself, was accustomed to.

And I _loved_ it.

I loved Bella with every single part of me and I knew I'd never intentionally do anything to hurt her. As intense as things were getting, I was still trying to be careful with Bella, but everytime she rolled her hips up into mine, I forgot myself a tiny bit more. She began running her hands along my sides, trying to find the seams of my shirt to pull it off, I thought. I didn't want to move my hands away from her body, but I was feeling just as needy as she was - if not more so after one hundred plus years - so I briefly removed my hand from behind her head, grabbed a side and pulled. It fell around us in shreds and I heard Bella moan with what sounded like anticipation. The quiet sound put me over the edge. I was still managing to retain a little of my restraint - a minuscule portion admittedly, but it was still there - but when that beautiful sound escaped her lips and I knew I was the reason for it, I couldn't hold out any longer.

I reached for the bottom of her shirt and eager for me to get it off, Bella broke the kiss just long enough for me to pull it up, but not over her head. Desperate to be kissing again, we brought our lips roughly together once more and that's when I tasted it.

Things had gotten so uncontrollable that I hadn't even noticed when one of my teeth had pierced the supple skin of her bottom lip. The sweet blood met my tongue, swirled around like heaven in my mouth and lit my whole body on fire, consuming me. I wanted it and I wanted her. Immediately.

Smelling it underneath the barrier of her skin was one thing, but having it flowing inside me, making me feel indestructible was an entirely different situation. And this time, her blood wasn't tainted with another vampire's venom. It was clean and pure. All Bella. It was practically singing with love, desire and commitment, but at the same time it was bold, lustful and relentless. The most mouthwatering substance I've ever been fortunate enough to encounter by far.

I couldn't stop myself from sucking it off her flawless lips. Part of me was screaming in agony, demanding that I stop this, but the blood just kept flowing and I couldn't pull away. I couldn't even feel Bella fighting me if, in fact, she had fought me at all. Her body was still responsive to my touch, my hands lingering across her body touching places I'd never dared to touch her before. The taste of Bella's life flowed slowly out of her and into me as we continued to press into one another and kiss - or rather, she kissed and I just licked and sucked on her bottom lip. It was amazingly erotic.

Eventually, Bella stopped responding altogether although when that happened, I'm not the slightest bit sure. I was long gone, high on the taste of the blood that I wanted ever since the day I laid eyes on her. When it finally registered that she wasn't moving and I felt her shallow, almost non-existent breaths from underneath me, there was an anguished, tormented part of me that begged the monster to stop, to leave this rare and exquisite creature alone.

But I couldn't. I couldn't move away from her.

The blood stopped and I became completely still, a statue hovering above her with my mouth still circled around her lip, tongue pressed to the tiny puncture that began my slow and blissful descent to my own personal hell. I was afraid of what I would find when I finally looked at her. Terrified, actually. I couldn't even feel her breathing under me anymore.

It was at that moment that I truly died.

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**So, what do you think is going to/should happen now? I have a plan already, but I'm all ears (eyes...) for your theories and suggestions. What did you think of this chapter? It wasn't as entertaining as I would have liked, but this chapter had a mind of it's own so I'm just going with it. Also, we aren't going to hear from hear from more True Blood characters and Jacob soon. Patience :)**

**Thanks for reading! See ya next update?**

**Click review and I'll send you a chapter 4 teaser when it's ready :P**


	5. Chapter 4 Transition

**Once again, I own nothing except this increasingly darkening plot...I really hadn't planned it this way, but I like where it's going so I'm going to stick with it. **

**Thanks for coming back for chapter 4!**

** Those of you who got the teaser, it totally sucked and I'm sorry about that. **

**After I finished the chapter, I realized there were some much better snippets I could have sent out than the one I originally chose, but whatever- I'll do better in the future. **

**Enough rambling...more A/Ns at the bottom. See ya there ;)**

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**Chapter 4**

**~Stefan~**

**2 Days after Chapter 3 / Day #3 on Phantom Cruise**

"I knew we shouldn't have come here," I told Elena defeatedly. "Not after Damon told us he was coming, too."

She tried to comfort me by rubbing her hand soothingly against my back and while it was nice, it wasn't doing anything to help quell my anger at Damon. "Stefan, you don't actually think Damon did that on purpose, do you?"

"Think?" I shook my head. "I know without a single doubt he did it on purpose. I just don't know why. Something that is ultimately to his benefit, I'm sure." Elena scooted closer to me on the bed, laid her head on my shoulder while wrapping her arms around mine as I sat on our bed, legs spread apart, leaning over with my elbows resting on my knees. She sighed. "You know I love you, right?"

I just looked at her because that was obviously the prelude to something I didn't want to hear. And of course, I knew she loved me. But with Damon around with all his fun and charm and unparalleled skills of manipulation, one never knew how much love was or wasn't enough. She took my silence as a cue to continue. "So, don't get upset with me when I say this, but maybe….maybe you're being a little too hard on Damon. He's been doing really well lately. Not killing people just for fun and you have to admit, he's toned the manipulation down a lot from when he first came to Mystic Falls. He's really trying to be better, Stefan. I know you see that," she said earnestly.

Admittedly, I did see it. I just knew my brother too well to think that it would last. I hated that I felt that way because I wanted nothing more than for Damon to reclaim his humanity, to have the relationship we had before Katherine. I wanted to be brothers again. But that couldn't happen when I would be forever running behind him cleaning up his messes or looking over my shoulder to see if he was coming and what destruction was trailing behind. I nodded my head seriously, while looking between my knees at my clasped hands. "I see it." I didn't add the part about how I didn't believe it would last, but I didn't need to. I'm sure Elena heard it in my voice, saw it in my face. I guess I was wearing what Damon would refer as "the brooding forehead."

"So tell me again what happened starting at the beginning. Maybe there's some logical explanation and we're just missing it," Elena suggested.

"All I know is I saw Damon walking with the crowd to take the ones that were fighting back to their rooms. They took Edward first and I didn't see Damon when they came back by to go towards Bill's room."

"And Alice?" Elena asked.

"You were inside helping to clean up some of the debris from the fight. You know, before The Wizard of Oz came back and decided to magic everything back in place." I managed a small smile there and continued. "Alice and the doctor, Carlisle and his wife, were beside me. Carlisle asked Alice to send word when she knew something about Edward, she agreed and said something about not being able to see, which I didn't understand." As a vampire, we have beyond perfect vision so it just didn't make much sense.

"The doctor and his wife retired to their room which left just me and Alice outside on the deck. She didn't say anything the whole time. She was just staring straight ahead so I asked her if she was okay." I stopped here, trying to make sense of things and also because this felt like it was turning into a really long monologue.

"And she said?" Elena asked.

"Nothing."

I looked up her and continued. "She didn't say anything. She just stood there staring straight ahead with this blank look on her face."

"Where was the rest of her family?" Elena wondered.

"I was wondering the same thing. I knew she was there with another vampire, a blonde one, but I had no idea where he was and before I could go looking for him, it was like whatever trance she was in was over and she took off." I shook my head and raised my hands in a what-was-I-supposed-to-do motion and kept on with the story we'd already briefly gone over once before, but never had time to dissect because of all the commotion from recent events. "She was so fast. But I caught up with her eventually and when I did she was with Damon. He had his arm around her and she was in one of those trances again, but Damon was whispering to her. Like he was trying to soothe her or something. And she was talking back, but I couldn't make sense of what she was saying."

Elena apparently wanted more details than that. "What did you hear?"

"She just kept saying random words over and over." I paused to remember all the bits and pieces I had heard. "Blood. Something about blood. She said 'she's his singer' a few times and something about 'all over'. I understand it perfectly now, but I didn't really get much out of that at the time." _Who would?_ I thought.

"And Damon? What was he doing while she was saying all that?"

"Just holding her, rubbing her arms. He said he would help her. Then, he saw me and handed her over to some big blonde guy who just happened to be walking by. He didn't look like he really knew what to do with her any more than I did." The memory of him standing there with that uncomfortable, lost look on his face with his arm around a distraught little vampire pixie was pretty humorous, but I didn't think now was the time to be laughing about anything. Especially not after the tragedy of the evening.

I knew Elena would ask what Damon said so I didn't pause for long in the telling. I replayed it over again in my mind while I told Elena the rest of the story.

_"Damon, what are you doing here?"_

_"I could ask you the same thing, Little Brother," he said in his casual, taunting kind of way. "When that poor girl ran into me, she was a mess in a trance and then I see you following behind." He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Elena not putting out enough, Stefan or did you just get tired of trying not to eat her?"_

_ I didn't find his attitude funny in the slightest. "I don't have any trouble not eating Elena," I replied before I thought about how horribly inappropriate that sounded. _

_Damon just smiled wickedly. "Well, maybe you should hand the reins over to a real man. The woman has needs, Little Brother. I'm sure I could persuade Elena to-" _

_"Elena is not a horse and history will not be repeating itself where she's concerned," I interrupted with distinct finality. "So why don't you skip all the sarcasm, the snide comments and tell me what's going on here," I commanded. _

_Surprisingly, Damon's face immediately converged into a serious expression. "Are you a complete idiot or am I the only one who can put two and two together? Did you hear what she was saying?" _

_"I heard a little. Nothing I could make sense out of. Stop being so cryptic - we're wasting time." _

_"The pixie-" _

_"Alice," I interrupted. _

_"Whatever- she sees things. Has visions. She was having one just now and I'm pretty sure I know what it's about." _

_It all made sense after that. Her trance, why she ran away. "Damon, I think she was having one before she ran off. She got this blank stare and - " _

_"Yeah, yeah, that was a vision. Did she tell you what it was?" Damon asked intently. _

_At this point, I really believed he actually wanted to help her. "No. She just took off." _

_At that moment, we heard Alice's soft, silver voice screeching loudly for the blonde vampire to let her go. He held tightly to her and when she resisted, as a reflex more than anything else, he held her tighter, not allowing her to get away. "I need to go, he'll kill her! He's killing her! Edward, STOP!" Alice screamed in futility while Damon rushed over to calm her down. _

_"Alice! Alice, listen to me. Where is she? Where's Bella?" _

_"Room one-oh-nine," Alice breathed. _

_Damon disappeared and I was left with a hysterical Alice and the fake vampire police. "You can let her go, you know," I told him. Alice was calmer now and stopped resisting his hold on her. "Eric, you're going to let me go in seven and a half seconds." She said it with such confidence that neither of us doubted it. Eric's only response was a slight amused smile before he let his hands drop from her arms. _

_She looked at me and demanded that I run and assist Damon in any way that I could while she went to find someone named Jasper and the rest of their family. She assured me that Damon would make it in time, but that he would need help convincing Edward of what was to be done because "Edward doesn't trust Damon" she said. She darted away before I could ask her exactly what it was that was supposed to "be done". I didn't waste any time, though. Leaving behind a confused Eric, I went straight to the room Alice indicated at lightning speed to find the door busted through, compliments of my brother, a beyond distraught, inconsolable Edward and a dead human. _

_Or at least she looked dead at first glance. Her skin was pale and colorless and her whole body looked limp laying across Edward's lap. I could just see the minuscule and irregular rise and fall of her chest as she was just barely breathing. If we waited much longer, she would undoubtedly die. After surveying all this, I realized there weren't any bite marks anywhere on her body. So what exactly happened to her? It didn't appear that Edward had bitten her, at least not anywhere that I could see. _

_I had forgotten that Edward could read minds and he looked up at me with his tortured eyes, looking absolutely lost, desolate, and nodded to her lips. I could see a small red puncture mark on the bottom half. "I just kissed her…" he whispered, with so much pain it was unbearable to witness. "…couldn't stop…." I heard him mumble. I thought of Elena. How I would feel if it was her laying there. Instantly, I tried to reason with him. _

Let me help her_, I thought_. I can help her.

_I walked slowly towards the bed, showing Edward in my mind what I planned to do and how it would heal her. _

_Damon stopped me. "She's lost too much blood. It'll kill you to save her." He beseeched me with his icy blue eyes; I knew what he was saying and I nodded my head. It gave me such hope for Damon. I thought in that moment, that we were almost real brothers again, or at least that there was hope that we could be. _

_I silently asked for Edward's approval and he said fervently, "anything. I'll do anything to save her."_

"Elena, I thought he was helping her. Helping me. All he was really doing is helping himself. Once again, it was part of one of his master diabolical plans. I should have known."

"How could you know that, Stefan? Damon's right, it would have killed you. And as much as I love that you wanted to help that girl and as selfish as this sounds, I'm not willing to lose you so that someone else could have their happily ever after."

I couldn't say anything to that. Would I still have risked my life knowing that I might not recover, that I might not see Elena again? Probably. Because I'm trying to overcompensate for being an unnatural, blood-drinking, evil creature of the night.

"Why don't you let me talk to Damon? We don't even know his side of the story…"

"You're still looking for a logical explanation aren't you? Why are you always so quick to defend him?" I yelled, shooting off the bed and turning on Elena. I wasn't really angry with her. I was angry with myself for getting sucked into Damon's shit again, for thinking he could show compassion for another being besides himself.

"I'm defending him because I saw him today. While everyone else was busy trying to skewer him and serve him on a platter, I saw his face. He was heartbroken, Stefan. He was just standing there, taking all of it- everything everyone said, the accusations- he just took it without a word. Whatever he did, he did for a reason. But at the same time, he seemed…okay with it in a way. And did you see Alice? She didn't say a word! She knew what was going on and she didn't tell anyone. That doesn't make sense- I'm just saying there has to be a reason. A good reason, I mean." She was breathless after her tirade and she looked at me with those beautiful brown eyes, begging me to understand.

"You want there to be some good in Damon. I get it," I said lifelessly. For some reason, it hurt a little that she obviously wanted that so badly. I couldn't stop myself from wondering, selfishly, why it mattered to her so much. Yes, I was an insecure bastard.

She looked at me with a pained expression because she picked up everything I wasn't saying so easily; she just knew me that well. I couldn't stand for her to hurt in any way and to know that I was part of the reason that look ever came across her face. Elena was good, selfless and I knew she would always do the right thing which is exactly what she was trying to do now.

"Go. Talk to him."

After Elena left the cabin, it was pretty dark and I couldn't stand to stay in the room all night worrying. Even I have my limits when it comes to brooding in my own self-loathing, so I went out to one of the various bars on the boat for a drink. And no, I don't mean blood- we can still drink alcohol and it helps with the cravings. How convenient, right? I have a built-in reason to be a drunk that actually coincides with my desire to be a better person. Figure that one out.

I was just enjoying the smooth, amber liquid when Sookie rushed up to me. "Hey, Stefan!" she exclaimed happily. "How are you? Everything alright? I know that stuff with your brother had you pretty upset." She sounded genuinely concerned.

I could feel my forehead wrinkling up in confusion when Sookie tapped her skull. "Sorry- in emotional situations, I have a hard time tuning everything out. I didn't mean to pry," she explained. I had forgotten she was a telepath like Edward.

"Oh no, Sookie, it's fine. I'll be alright. Thanks."

"Well alright then. Listen, have you seen Bill? I can't find him anywhere. When he woke up tonight, he just left without a word." I shook my head apologetically and wondered briefly why she just didn't use her powers to reach out and find him.

"Oh it doesn't work like that. I wish. I could have found him so much earlier that last time he-" she caught herself and stopped abruptly, changing the subject. "I can't read Bill's mind. Or Eric's. Or any of the vampires I've met in Bon Temps or Shreveport. I don't know what the difference is between the vampires I've met here and the ones there. I would have said it's because you have more of your humanity, but that can't be true can it? I mean, Bill's plenty humane and look at Damon! All the horrible things he's done? Sure, he feels bad about a lot of 'em, but he'll never tell anybody and-" The liquor was kicking in and I'm sure I was, however unintentionally, making a face - an amused, drunken face.

"I'm so sorry. I know you don't want to hear about that, but I ramble when I'm nervous."

"It's quite alright. You've heard all my woes. Tell me yours," I suggested. She looked tempted, but still unsure.

"It can't hurt, can it? You have better chances of finding Bill if you stay in one place than you do wandering around. Have a drink." There was a shapeshifter leaning on the bar to my left staring at a couple of sirens near the stem of the boat. _Damn, those wicked little things are everywhere_, I thought as I snatched his drink and slid it over to Sookie.

She eyed it with defiance, grabbed the shot and sat down on my right. "I normally don't do this, but it's a vacation, right?" I noticed she had the cutest southern accent before she smiled and threw the shot back like a pro. I raised my eyebrows and smiled in surprise.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I work in a bar! What do you expect?" she laughed.

I laughed with her, glad for someone to talk to and ordered her another shot.

**~Elena~**

I knocked on the door quietly, knowing Damon would hear me. When he didn't answer I knocked louder and called, "Damon! I know you're in there. Let me in."

I didn't realize I was leaning so close to the door until it flew open with Damon standing in it's place. His face was inches from mine and we hesitated before speaking, the proximity catching us both off-guard. When we finally did speak, it was at the same time. "Sorry," I breathed while Damon said, "come in, then" and moved off to the side sweeping his arm out in a gesture of welcome. I ignored the fluttery feeling I got when his body was so close to mine and stepped inside his room.

This was the first time I'd seen it and it was a lot different than mine and Stefan's room. Damon seemed to have a red and black theme going on in his. Black leather furniture with red accent pieces, black bedding with red trim and so forth. Damon himself was wearing his usual all black from his hair right down to his boots. He blended in with the darkness of the room; almost matching it.

I turned around to face him when I heard the door click and I shouldn't have been surprised. He was right behind me again - something he knew I hated, but still insisted on doing anyway. There was a small intake of breath, but I didn't gasp like I used to, perhaps because I was almost used to it. Damon shook his head mockingly. "Looks like I'm losing my touch," he sighed and touched his index finger to the tip of my nose before walking around me to pour himself a drink. The tiny gesture, that brief connection of skin, felt like a shock of electricity to me, but I didn't move. I didn't give anything away.

"Damon, we need to talk."

He made a pained face and feigned falling to his knees. "Nooo! Elena, you never, never ever say those words to a man. You don't know the fear they inflict upon our delicate egos." He contorted his voice to match the mocking expression he wore on his face.

"Give it rest. I didn't come here to listen to your sarcasm. We really need to talk about this," I said seriously.

"About what?" Damon shot back.

"You know what. Why did you do it, Damon?"

He looked down at the floor, took a sip of his drink and strolled casually over to his leather couch. He plopped down with a sigh, not spilling a drop of his favorite scotch and looked at me with those piercing blue eyes. I was quiet, waiting for him to speak. When he finally did, true to form, he got right to the point. "It's what she wanted. I just gave her what she wanted."

I could see that he was conflicted about the situation; probably more conflicted than anyone else. I wanted to understand and more than that, I found myself wanting to comfort him. He looked so lost and unlike himself spread out on the couch, staring vacantly into his scotch. This wasn't cocky, sure of himself, sarcastic, diabolical-plan Damon. This was someone entirely different.

I walked over to him and stood by the couch, waiting expectantly. He pulled his legs up to make room for me and once I sat down, I pulled his legs back across my lap. I wanted his face to be far away from me on the other end of the couch so he couldn't try and pull that whole movie scenario. You know- the one where we have a little bonding heart to heart and then he scoots really close and tries to kiss me- yeah, so not happening.

"You have to explain it to me a little better than that, you know. I'm not sure I really understand," I told him softly.

"You wouldn't understand. You didn't see her. She was…crying, begging. She was begging me, Elena. And I could sympathize. I tried to reason with her, but I had couldn't. It's the only thing she wanted and if I hadn't done it, she would have found some disgusting, morbid way to do it herself."

"So you killed Bella because she wanted to be a vampire. To be with Edward forever. The way you wanted to be with Katherine." I stated it slowly and calmly, positive that it was the truth. Talking about Katherine was never a happy subject for Damon or Stefan, but the memories seemed to be more painful for Damon being that he was the one who never got over her.

"I even tried to compel her. Obviously, it didn't work. Edward can't read her mind so it makes sense that I can't fuck with it, right?" He laughed bitterly and took another drink of his scotch.

By this point, the words were flowing pretty freely so I sat and listened while he got it all out. "All I wanted was to do the right thing. Like Stefan- he does the right thing all the time. He says the right thing. That's not in me. Anywhere. But I still tried today. And even though I know I gave Bella exactly what she wanted, she's gonna wake up tonight - tomorrow maybe - and realize that it's not what she thought it was gonna be at all. And what am I then?" he asked me. I didn't answer because I didn't know what to say.

"She got what she wanted, sure- but she doesn't know what a big mistake it is yet and when she finds out, it'll be all my fault."

"But I know what it's like to be in her situation and I figured either way, we're both screwed, right? Edward refused to do it and everybody already hates me. I got nothin' to lose." He said it like it was something to be deliriously happy about and started to take the last sip of his liquor.

I reached over and pulled the glass away from his lips. "You're not a bad person, Damon. You can do good things. I know you think it's not in you, but clearly it is." I sat the glass on the table behind the couch, shoved his legs off my lap despite his 'what the hell!' protests and got up. I put out my hand and waited for him to grab it. He was hesitant, but I knew he would take it and when he did I tried to take charge of the situation before he got any ideas or gave me those flirty eyes of his.

"You can't stay here all night agonizing over this. We're going to talk to the Cullen's right now and you're going to help Bella through her transition. That's the only thing there is to do, you know that."

Damon contemplated and tried to argue that he wouldn't be able to do it , that Stefan would be more suited to teaching the girl how to eat chocolate labs than him - and a whole host of other sarcastic jokes - but I wasn't hearing any of it because we both knew that I was right.

As we walked out of his room, I thought again about all the black inside it. And also, about how Damon didn't match it at all.

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**I know it might not seem like there was a whole hell of a lot going on in this chapter, but I promise all this is going somewhere and I'll relax on all the brooding and soul-searching stuff and get back to more of the funny once we get there :) Unless you guys like that angsty kind of stuff...I do. But I'm also too weird and happy to write it well.**

** Also, for those of you who are anxious for some Eric/Sookie action- it's coming and it'll all tie in together nicely...or at least I hope so.**

** *looks nervously about the room***

** I'm actually anxious to hear from Jake again, too so we'll probably be hearing about the fight in more detail from his POV...who knows. I don't really have this mapped out. I'm sort of just whinging it. **

**Bad technique, huh? Oh well, it seems to work thus far :P **

**Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and see if you can guess what's going to happen with Bella! Please feel free to make guesses, share thoughts or ask questions. I always reply :) **

**Reviews are better than Damon's flirty blue eyes ;)**


	6. Chapter 5 Poker Face

**A/N: I own nothing except the insanity in my own head:)**

**Thanks a million for the new alerts/reviews and for continuing on to chapter 5! I'm truly appreciative! *hugs* I hope you enjoy it since it took long enough getting here. **

**I had planned on having it done earlier, but some unexpected things happened so...here we are.**

** I am already working on chapter 6 so maybe it won't be too long before it's posted. **

**I may even start a playlist for the story xD! Maybe...**

**As always, please let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 5**

**~Alice~**

_Zero, un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix….._

Edward shot me a glare. I would have been a little intimidated if I didn't know I could kick his ass any day with or without his speed. He's all theatrics which is why I wasn't worried about what I was hiding from him; I knew I was doing the right thing, he'd get over it and thank me later not to mention the insane bonus that it would spare the rest of us his moral, emo bullshit. But I had to keep it hidden until it was done or he would get all Vampire in Sparkly Armor and mess everything up.

_Ichi, ni, san, shi, go, rook, shichi, hachi, kyuu, ju-_ and on and on it went until I'd counted to one hundred in over thirty different languages.

Edward either couldn't take it anymore or finally realized I wasn't going to crack and think about what I was definitely _not_ going to think about - or maybe it was both - and came over to sit in the lounge chair beside me at the pool's edge. I was enjoying the rare opportunity to soak up the warmth of the sun whereas Edward was just there to find out what I was hiding. Our glittering skin shimmered off the clear blue water in a thousand rainbow-colored reflections that danced across the occupants of the pool. Some of them, like the mermaids - hired as staff on the ship to entertain the guests - looked beautiful and majestic glowing in our diamond beams. Others just looked impossibly more freakish. I glanced at the minotaur, saw how the reflections lit up his fuzzy-looking, yellow teeth and wrinkled my nose in disgust. Not to mention that he was eyeing me in my black bikini in a very unsettling sex-for-dinner kind of way. I had to think of something funny to counteract the disturbing images plaguing my consciousness.

"I'll make it quick Alice. Whatever it is you're hiding from me- just spit it out now," Edward demanded in a hard voice as he sat back feigning patience in his poolside lounger. "And stop picturing the minotaur in a sequined pink thong dancing to Lady Gaga," he added, disgustedly.

"You have to admit, it would be amusing," I said dreamily.

"Do you know he's imagining you doing the exact same thing?" Edward countered.

i cut my eyes in him in a death stare. "Liar."

He smiled angelically, enjoying my discomfort just a little. "Really. Poker Face. Sadly, he knows all the words."

I laid my head back in my chair trying not to let the illustration Edward painted disturb me, but that was shot to hell when he started quietly singing, "You'll get him hard, show him what you got-"

I exploded in the minotaur's direction. "Not happening you filthy, hygienically challenged beast!" His glazed eyes re-focused as he turned in my direction confused. Edward burst out in an emphatic explosion of laughter, the first time he'd seemed really at ease since the night before.

It was the first time he'd left Bella in hours, but for all that time that he refused to leave her, he also refused to get within ten feet of her or touch her afraid that he would hurt her again. Ridiculous. Edward relaxed back into his chair switching back to his patient demeanor. I sighed, knowing he was waiting for me to give him information.

"Do we really have to go through this Edward?" I asked turning my head in his direction and sliding my over-sized shades up into my spiky black hair. "Why don't you just ask me who wins this little game, I'll say me and you can be on your way." I smiled briefly while wrinkling my nose in what Jasper repeatedly told me was "the cutest damn thing" he'd ever seen.

Edward stopped with the act of patience and bolted out of his chair getting right in my face about an inch from my nose. Ever since the incident with Bella, Edward had been all wound up and even though it was obvious to everyone else, he kept trying to hide it. Until now.

"I can't take this!" he shouted."You know something and so help me God, Alice, if you don't tell me and something happens to Bella I'll-"

I didn't interrupt.

I sat serenely waiting for him to continue. He didn't.

"You'll what, Edward?" I inquired passively, as if it was of no importance to me. Because I knew there was nothing he could say, nothing he could do. Except hurt himself which he would definitely do if he lost Bella. It goes back to that whole theatrics thing he has going on.

It was almost like a vision; I saw how deflated he was at that moment. How the realization that he was entirely helpless defeated him. Right then, it all came crashing down for Edward. He'd thought that almost killing Bella was the worst moment of his existence and even though it was unquestionably at the top of the list, this realization that he was powerless to stop it from happening again, that he couldn't constantly protect Bella from everything, or even do anything that would make a difference should something happen to her- it was devastating for him. He was trapped and it was the end. There was nowhere else to go unless you counted 'in circles' as a final destination.

He'd left Bella once and it almost killed them both. If he took her life, whether by accident or on purpose, it would inevitably disintegrate him just the same as it would if anything else hurt her and he couldn't stop it. Because Edward would take all the blame, all the grief, all the responsibility and he'd roll it up into a ball and set himself on fire with it and revel in the flames until they consumed him entirely. If he left her, it would be their end- if he stayed, it would be their end also. That is why I knew I was doing this emo bastard a favor.

Edward looked past the only solution there was thinking that it was the most selfish, deplorable thing he could do. But for Bella, it was the only answer. He was denying them both the chance of eternal happiness, denying Bella the one thing she wanted most in all the world, all because he didn't want to feel _selfish_? How fucked up is that? Isn't that kind of selfish in itself?

While Edward was busy getting his doom and gloom on, I came to the realization that my brother was a really talented masochist. Edward would undoubtedly take home the Oscar, the Emmy and the Teen Choice Award for that shit. He was making himself, Bella and all the rest of us miserable with his attempt at trying to do the right thing. He was doing what he'd always thought would have been the better thing for him- staying human, never becoming a vampire, dying in nineteen eighteen. That was his belief, the choice he would have made if he would have been given a choice. But there was no choice for Edward. He did exist, he was a vampire, he met Bella and they fell in love.

She was choosing the path that was right for her and the very person she wanted from it - and wanted it from for that matter - was standing in her way. I wanted to tell Edward to suck it up and make it official, but I didn't think he'd appreciate the pun considering he'd nearly drained all the life out of his one true love so instead I just kept my little secret, wrapped my arms around my brother's neck and told him everything was going to be fine. "Trust me," I whispered.

He sat back down in his chair and, after a moment, seemed to relax because he knew that he could. Trust me, that is. I loved Bella, too and I would never put her in unnecessary danger; Edward knew that. I got a little twinge of guilt, wondering if I was really doing the right thing, but it passed quickly. It was too late now. It was already happening. I didn't want to think about it with Edward so near so I straightened out the worried lines on my face, pulled down my shades and sang just loud enough for Edward and I to hear. "Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read my poker face."

**~Edward~**

"Trust Me." That's what Alice said to me before the world ended. She assured me that everything would be fine and like an imbecile, I trusted her judgement blindly. I should have shaken the information out of her tiny little head and then maybe I could have stopped it. All it would have taken is a day or two for the Salvatore's blood to circulate out of her system and she would have been fine. When I discovered what Damon had done to Bella I fully intended to reach down his throat, grab his pancreas and pull it out of his mouth while simultaneously shoving a stake up his-

"Edward that's enough!" Sookie yelled, storming into the washroom with me. It was the one place I thought I would get some privacy, but I was, once again, wrong. She came over and squatted down on the floor right in front of where I was sulking. She spoke gently, but in that no-nonsense kind of way that you often hear in the voice of mothers. "I know you love Bella and I know you didn't want this life for her, but sitting in here dreaming up ways to torture Damon is no way to spend your night. Bella needs you there when she wakes up."

I'm sure I must have looked at her with an ocean of anguish in my eyes at the thought of seeing Bella lying broken on the floor again. It was the most unbearable thing I've ever witnessed when I realized I'd almost killed her and sat holding her, watching her shallow and sporadic breaths come and go. But that was before I saw her with a broken neck, her colorless, distorted body sprawled on the floor of our big white room. That image was infinitely more horrifying. I'd left her only for a little while (to find out what the hell Alice was keeping from me) with the Salvatore brothers standing watch outside the room. That wasn't entirely just to make sure she didn't get out; I was more worried about what I might do to her so I asked them to stay as protection for Bella from me.

What I wasn't aware of, but should have been, is that Bella needed protection from the depravity of Damon possibly more than she needed it from anything else, but I let my gratefulness for his help in saving her cloud my earlier - and clearly more accurate - opinion of him. I wouldn't even go near her in that room. She would move to try to get close to me and I would back away, always keeping a careful distance between us. She told me she wasn't mad, that she loved me. She asked me repeatedly why I didn't just turn her myself and I tried to explain, but she's ludicrous in the way she regards me so, of course, she didn't listen. I tried to tell her that if I were to bite her, I doubt there's any way at all that I could stop before I killed her. I was already fighting hard against the severe urge to taste her blood again; there would be no hope for her if I did.

When we bite into human flesh, our natural predator instincts kick into high gear and the thrill from tearing at her skin, sucking out her blood- I was afraid it would be too much, that I wouldn't be able to control it. She had to point out that I did stop before I killed her when her lip was bleeding, but I couldn't allow that line of thought to make me feel any less repulsive about myself. I hadn't bitten her then and the blood was flowing only a little at a time- it's not the same thing. Not to mention the fact that she never made a move to stop me which might have had much more dire consequences, as if the situation weren't already catastrophic. When our prey fights against us, that only intensifies our desire to consume them both literally and figuratively.

I could never completely reconcile my feelings on the issue of Bella becoming a vampire because, while I never wanted this empty shell of a life for her, it would have been easier for us to be together if I weren't regularly putting her life in danger. I made the biggest mistake of all when I put her life in the hands of Damon Salvatore and yet, even in my rage - even though the dominant part of me wanted to rip his body piece by piece - there was still a tiny selfish part of me that rejoiced at the fact that, soon, it would no longer be necessary for me to resist and endure the scorching pain of hunger. I had to get back to Bella, but I had a cacophony of emotions to deal with before I could face her again. She would need to see me strong and resolved, not the appalling, pathetic mess I was when Sookie found me.

"I know. My brothers and Carlisle are watching her now. I just needed…"

Bella. I just needed Bella back. Exactly the way she was.

_Edward_, Sookie thought somewhat cautiously. She placed her hand in mine, silently asking for me to look at her.

_Have you thought about the fact that Bella's going to be…different - from your family? _

That was my main source of regret for not turning her myself. It was like the universe was saying "this is what you get for not giving her what she wanted to begin with." And that's exactly what it was. I finally understood what Bella (and everyone else) had been trying to tell me all along; that what I thought was an empty shell and a poor imitation of life wouldn't have been that for Bella. It would have been full and complete because she would have been able to have me forever in all the ways she wanted me. And I would have seen it in the same light if I had not been so consumed with the belief that our existence is wrong and unnatural. It wouldn't have been unnatural or empty at all for me with Bella by my side. Any way that Bella can exist - even undead vampire beauty - is better than not having her at all for she was my only reason to continue existing in the first place. That epiphany was staring me in my pretty sparkly face the whole damn time, only now it was too late to matter. My misery, all the torment of the last century and especially the last day, seemed to flow in a silent circle between Sookie and I. She, being the only one who could truly feel and understand the depth of my sorrow, stayed with me until it was time to go back to Bella to wait for the unknown.

I walked Sookie back to her room so she could be there with Bill when he woke up for the evening before anxiously departing for Carlisle's cabin where Bella and the rest of my family were. I could hear everyone's thoughts as I approached, but most dominant among them all were Jacob's being that they were screaming the loudest.

…_Bella always finds the most worthless, degenerate assholes to mess with? At least Edward didn't want to turn her into a filthy leech, but nooo, Bella can't rest until she's some vicious, blood-draining monster and now she's probably dead. Unless she attacks me when she wakes up. If my blood would turn her into something other than a vampire, I'd gladly let her kill me. But it won't so I'll have to settle for tearing Damon apart..._

If there were any bright to side to this at all, it would be the fact that there was, finally, a vampire that Jacob hated more than me. Damon would be entirely too easy to eliminate with the dog by my side. Although, he'd probably just turn on me the second the stake hit Damon's heart. Not that I didn't deserve it.

It was quite a conundrum meeting the Salvatore's and Sookie's vampires. They were so different from us and looking inside their mind's was fascinating and, at times, revolting. Learning how they operated, the different talents they possessed that we did not*, seeing their thought processes for myself; it was like going to a foreign country and learning about a different culture. That's what it would be like when Bella awoke. I would have to learn everything I could about this different breed of vampire. As much as I vacillated between thanking and killing Damon, at that thought, I had to go with the latter when I realized she wouldn't be able to walk in the day, she would be vulnerable to staking and more importantly, her first feed would have to be on a human or she would die what Sookie's vampires called "the true death." I had to talk to Carlisle immediately to see if we could find a way around this. Jacob's thoughts had inspired an idea. I quickly went from Anti-Bellapire to being her biggest advocate.

When I walked into my parents' room everyone was outwardly solemn, but the thoughts were utter and complete chaos. Once they set eyes on me, everyone, with the exception of Jacob, immediately tried to hide what they were thinking. Alice began counting in Arabic, Jasper automatically went into mood control mode, Esme was just worried period, Carlisle was calm with his mind refreshingly blank, Rose was admiring herself in the glossy reflection of the small china cabinet in the left corner of the room while Emmett went from reminiscently envisioning a human Bella tripping up the single stair into our kitchen to picturing Rose in a compromising position and upon realizing his mistake, switched tracks again by thinking of his precious jeep. I wasn't in any mood to acknowledge anyone except my father. I glanced at Bella briefly to see her lying on the bed as if she were sleeping, but knowing she wasn't, I couldn't stand the sight.

"Carlisle, may I speak with you privately?"

He nodded silently and followed me back out of the room. "What is it, son?" he asked once we were outdoors.

"I have an idea I wanted to run by you." He was attentive as always so I went on without pause. "You realize the Salvatore's are different from us and that Bella will be like them."

He nodded his head once with a solemn expression, his thoughts making clear exactly how aware he was. It had been bothering him, too.

"She would need to feed on a human in order to complete the transformation and," I stopped, my voice cracking. "I can't lose her, Carlisle."

"Edward," Carlisle started gently, "are you asking me to allow innocent humans to die for this? The only humans on this ship now are Elena and Sookie. We can't compromise who we are. Not even for Bella."

They were hard words spoken gently and sympathetically. It would have been heartbreaking if that were what I was asking.

"No, no Carlisle- you misunderstand. I don't want that either, but I believe there may be a way to prevent it. It's worth a try at least."

Carlisle looked skeptical only for a moment, but quickly became open-minded, willing to hear any idea that might make it possible to have Bella back and spare innocent people. I readied myself for Carlisle's possible objection of the idea before I opened my mouth to speak.

"I want to inject Bella with my venom."

Carlisle was silent, quickly molling it over in his head. "I'm not sure what-"

"I know there's no guarantee it'll do anything, but it can't get any worse can it?" I could hardly bear to say it, but I had to drive the point. "She might die either way. And if she doesn't, someone innocent will. Bella won't be able to live with that on her conscience and neither can I. We have to try something." I spoke earnestly, compellingly; begging him with my eyes.

Carlisle nodded once again, his thoughts just as hopeful and desperate as mine. "We'll have to ask Alice if she can see how this will go."

I didn't like having to ask Alice anything about Bella because in many ways, I blamed her for allowing this to happen, but I knew that Alice's sight would come in handy and also, as much as I hated to admit it, that her intentions were good.

"I'm sorry," Alice lamented for the millionth time. "I just can't see her. I can see that by doing this, it changes things, but it's all a blur. The scenarios change almost as instantly as they come!" Alice exclaimed.

She was exasperated and nervous with her lack of sight which gave way to a lot of rambling. Logical rambling, but rambling nonetheless.

"I'm thinking…because there's never been two different breeds of vampire melded together to make whatever this would make Bella, I can't see what will happen. I'm no help to you here. I can see a little of what will happen when she wakes up, which should be in an hour and a thirty-four seconds, by the way, but when I try to picture your little science experiment, everything gets hazy." Alice dropped her head down into her hands, whispered hopelessly, "I'm sorry."

I left the comforting to Carlisle and Jasper while I paced the floor wondering when we could get started. Alice's lack of sight did not deter me from wanting to take action. As a matter of fact, it spurred me on. I saw her visions as she saw them and while she was right about the scenarios changing too rapidly to ascertain, the fact that they were there at all and none of them seemed to contain a clear future where Bella died, I couldn't help but be the tiniest bit optimistic. I had a second of doubt, thinking that _none_ of the future was clear with any of the visions, but I pushed it aside. If I didn't hold onto that one tiny shred of hope, I would lose it entirely.

I was just about to go speak with Carlisle again when I heard a set of thoughts approaching that I'd just recently become more attuned to. I darted to the door, ready to shed skin from bone when Alice's back beat against it, abruptly slamming it back into place. "Don't!" she screamed. "He means to help. Let him."

Even through my fury, I could see the truth in Alice's vision.

"He did this and he feels terrible. Let him help make it right," Alice plead.

I gave her a steely gaze, unclenched my jaw and managed to quietly work out the words, "there's nothing anyone can do to make this _right_." I opened the door effortlessly even with Alice putting all her strength into keeping it closed and stormed out the door.

I ran at Damon with every ounce of speed and strength that I could muster and hit him square in the chest with a force so powerful it sent both of us catapulting through the warm night air. The gust of wind I created as I flew into him knocked Elena back into a large white column that was helping to hold the little underpass they were walking through and luckily, she had enough sense to wrap her arms around it to slow her descent to the ship floor; she wasn't hurt thankfully.

I righted myself quickly and continued at a brisk walk as though nothing had happened. Damon had landed so hard he'd fallen through two floors of the steel ship- I could see it all so clearly in his mind. His body was stuck through with hundreds of eviscerated shards of the ship floor, but he would live for now, leaving only his pride injured. He could still help Bella once he healed and that was the only reason I didn't kill him right away.

Well, there was one other reason.

Experimentation.

Carlisle had drawn a few syringes of venom from inside my mouth and the little glass vials clanked gently against one another as I walked making a quiet tinkling noise in my pocket. I wrapped a hand around the empty one I'd just injected into Damon as we flew backward through the air praying, for the first time in a century, that they were the answer I was looking for. I pulled Damon's ring-of-not-burning* out of my pocket and eyed the elaborate, serpentine "S" inlaid in the lapis lazuli jewel in the center.

I'd just made Damon Salvatore my Exhibit A.

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***When Edward talks about the other vampires possessing different talents, he means compulsion. Damon, Stefan, Eric, Pam & Bill can all compel humans to do or believe whatever they want them to. The Cullens do not have that power and even if they did, does anybody really think they'd use it? Also, Eric can fly so Edward might have been talking about that, too :)**

***Damon's ring of not burning- can't remember if I mentioned this before, but Stefan and Damon have rings that allow them to walk in the day. I think I did mention it earlier in the story, but just in case, here it is.**

**So, what do you think? **

**What will happen to Damon with Edward's venom in his system and no ring to walk in the sun? **

**How do you think Stefan will feel about what Edward has done to Damon and do you think Alice saw what Edward was planning in a vision? **

**What do you think will or should happen with Bella? **

**And who wants more Eric in this bitch? :D**

**Thanks, as always for reading! I heart you guys hard core! **

**I'm hard at work on the next chapter so those of you that review, I'll send you a kickass sneak peak at Chapter 6! **

**I promise it won't be a crappy teaser like the last one I sent out - yeah, I'm still apologizing for that.**


	7. Chapter 6 Sparkle Juice

It's finally, finally here! I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted. As most of you know, RL sort of took over. I'm not making any promises about how soon or otherwise chapter 7 will be up because things rarely go how I plan. I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the ridiculously long wait.

xxx

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**Chapter 6**

**~Hermione~**

"Ron, it's just a drink! It's not like we're getting married, okay?" I fired angrily, my words getting faster with every second that Ron delayed me. It was as if I thought talking faster would get me out the door sooner which was crazy.

"Think about what you just said Hermione. It's just a _drink_. Well what does Mister Vampy Pants drink?" Ron asked smugly. He probably thought he was making some impressive point, but I was quickly tiring of his commentary.

I yelled at the top of my voice, words rushing rapidly in a squeal so that by the time I was finished, I'm pretty sure I was yelling at decibels that only dogs could hear. "I'm not an idiot. I know what he drinks! But he asked if he could buy me a drink. Keyword, Ron- BUY! He didn't say 'hey hot wizard chick, let me tap a vein' which is what you would have said if you were a vampire because you have less charm than a teaspoon!"

I snatched my small black clutch from the end table by the door and stormed out dramatically, leaving Harry to talk sense into Ron. _Fat chance of that happening_, I thought. I should volunteer Ron's services to Eric…that would teach him.

I took a long set of stairs down to the bottom floor of the ship to meet Eric at the club. I thought about how amazing it was to be on a cruise ship with a club and the fact that I was going to that club to meet an insanely gorgeous man. I also thought about how refreshing it was that he wasn't anything like Viktor Krum; Eric had beauty _and brains_. I reached the door and paused to check my reflection in its glossy, black surface before entering. I cringed at the sight of my hair. While it was much more tame than it used to be, it still wouldn't do quite what I wanted it to. There was nothing else I could do to manage it short of cutting it all off or using a potion to change it, but the effects weren't lasting and I doubted I could find all the ingredients I'd need on a boat. Well, maybe if I sent Hedwig out for them, but it's too late for that now. _Oh well_. I pulled the handle and stepped inside.

I'd never been in a club before- muchless a supernatural one. It was somewhat like I imagined it would be though. The music was blaring, some fast-paced dance rhythm with bass so loud you couldn't understand the words and a thick fog crawling along the floor concealing dancing feet and claws. It was dark with neon lights of various colors intermittently rolling throughout the room and briefly lighting up the vertical sexing that was taking place on the dance floor.

There seemed to be a lot of creepy bestiality happening in the place. The women were all scantily clad and looking to tease while the men cleaned up nicely, too, but a lot of them just looked like slobs looking to get laid- which they undoubtedly were. Slobs, that is- not getting laid; not by any woman in the room who had a bit of sense anyway. There were all manner of creatures in the club as well. It was a wonder everyone was getting along. I would have thought that there would be natural enemies on a cruise like this where any supernatural was welcome, but witnessing the scene before me made me think, a bit naively I'm sure, that maybe since they were all trying to enjoy a vacation everyone had some kind of unspoken truce going on.

I watched vampires, fairies, centaurs, a small dragon, a few goblins, an ogre, other witches and what I suspected was a demon enjoying their night of reckless abandon. There was even an angel floating among the crowd. _Who knew angels went clubbing_? I noticed her when I walked passed to search for Eric and I felt a wave of peace come over me. I didn't even realize how nervous I was until I felt it settle. I gave the angel a small grateful smile and she nodded her head in Eric's direction. Apparently the angel didn't have a problem with me having a drink with him so why should Ron? I smiled haughtily. Nothing like divine intervention to make one feel better about any situation.

I made my way to the corner table where Eric sat enjoying a glass of a thick red substance that, admittedly, did make my stomach churn a bit. I pushed the nausea away, turned my haughty Ron smile into a sweet-and-innocent one and went to sit with him. Eric stood up as I approached and waited until I was settled to take his seat again. Very gentlemanly.

"Miss Granger," he nodded. His voice alone was enough to make my panties melt into oblivion and all he'd said was my name. Add to that the blonde hair, blue eyes, his towering height and fuckhot body and _Merlin's pants_, I thought -I was ready to strip right where I stood. Sheesh- I needed to get a grip. "Hermione, please," I answered a little shyly.

"As you wish. What will you have to drink this evening, Hermione?"

"Not what you're having, that's for sure." I said it before I even consciously thought of it - a nervous habit - and I would have been completely embarrassed, but Eric wasn't easily offended. He just smiled, amused and handed me a menu.

A young waiter dressed in Greek attire came to the table immediately to take my order. He looked me up and down, making no effort to hide the shameless lust that was crawling all over his plain face. I noticed how his eyes lingered at the short hem of my black sequined mini-dress and how he smacked his lips as if I looked like some particularly tasty dish.

"May I suggest the Panty Dropper?" he asked in a peculiarly squeaky voice.

Thinking this sounded like a blatant come on from a prepubescent jackass, I was taken aback and briefly considered pulling my wand from the front of my dress and causing his body to swell up with puss. That was until I realized it was an actual drink on the menu. My jaw dropped a little as I deliberated. I'd never had any of the drinks listed there before so I didn't know what to choose, plus I was a little nervous that ordering a panty dropper might give Eric the wrong impression of me. Or the right one.

Thankfully, he saved me by taking the menu and giving it back to waiter. He spoke in a clear, confident tone. "I think the lady would quite enjoy a Red Hot Lover, what do you think?" he turned his attention to me, eyeing me in a much more welcome way than the waiter had, blue eyes sparkling with seduction. Normally I would have insisted on ordering for myself, but I didn't know what I liked to begin with so there was no point in arguing. Besides that, the double meaning in Eric's words was much less repulsive than the waiter's and I couldn't bring myself to deny that he was one hundred percent spot on in his assumption.

"Sounds perfect," I said.

The waiter scuttled nervously away, obviously petrified of Eric and I wondered aloud why a Greek God would be serving drinks on a cruise ship and also why said Greek God would be so altogether unexceptional. Eric explained to me that he was a demigod; half human. And not a particularly talented one which is why he was condemned to a life of serving on a ship with leprechauns. It wasn't long before he brought my drink and scampered off again before Eric could effortlessly intimidate him any further. Normally I would find that amount of influence over people unnerving in a man, but Eric didn't have to do anything to be intimidating; he just was. It was a part of his natural demeanor and the power poured out of him just from the way he carried himself. At the same time, I discovered that I could feel positively relaxed in his presence. It was a bit odd, but a very welcome feeling.

I found that I enjoyed talking to Eric. He didn't make small talk or prattle about unimportant things. Everything he said was engaging or carried substance and he was very educated. After a thousand years of existence, how could he not be a wealth of knowledge? He exerted an undeniable radiation of sex and mystery and he was profoundly confident, which I found incredibly attractive compared with the bumbling teenage morons I was usually faced with.

I did realize, however, that I didn't have a chance with him. Sure, I could have cashed in on my Red Hot Lover card at any time and he would have happily complied, but after these four weeks, I'd never see him again. As irresistible as Eric is, that wasn't what I wanted. And what I did want Eric couldn't give me. He was in love with another woman.

Sookie.

I could tell as soon as she walked into the room. He stopped mid-sentence and his eyes traveled as if there was some magnetic pull directly to the door she'd just stepped through. Right on cue, like she was under the influence of the same magnetic allure, Sookie's eyes found Eric's and she rushed toward him, evidently on a mission that couldn't wait until I wasn't present.

"Have you seen Bill?" she yelled over the ear-splitting volume of the music. The colored lights danced across her body highlighting in psychedelic perfection her white halter dress hugging her womanly curves, exposing the smooth tanned flesh of her shoulders, most of her back, arms and legs.

"No. Have you lost him already?" Eric replied smoothly.

Sookie was already impatient, but Eric's response boosted that emotion up a notch. "I have not_ lost _him, Eric. When he woke up he just left and I don't have a clue where he went."

Eric looked thoughtful for a moment before he turned to me and politely expressed his apologies, then he rose fluidly from his seat, gestured for Sookie to sit down and, just like that, he was gone.

I sat quietly, feeling a bit awkward and wondering if our date - or drink or whatever it was - was over. My Red Hot Lover was gone. Both of them.

Sookie laughed unexpectedly and my eyes darted to hers, instantly embarrassed for it was so easy to forget she could hear my thoughts.

"You're what?" she giggled.

My embarrassment quickly turned to anger when I thought I was being made fun of. I cut my eyes at my empty glass feeling positively defensive.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just funny that Eric would order you a drink with that particular name. Not subtle at all, is he?"

My anger was short lived as I grasped that Sookie was actually very nice and I found it easy to converse with her.

"Better than the waiter. He asked me if I wanted a Panty Dropper after practically drooling all over my lap." _And besides_, I thought, _just look at Eric_.

"I know," Sookie agreed. "He's wrapped in pretty paper, but don't get too comfortable with him. Ever heard the expression 'Satan in a Sunday hat'? He can be vicious and everything he does is self-serving. _Everything_." The last word Sookie spoke was a warning that I didn't know how to respond to.

I'd guessed as much, but I couldn't bring myself to believe that he was entirely narcissistic. I saw the way he looked at Sookie and how he jumped up to help without her even having to really ask. I got the impression that he would do anything for her even if it included finding her current vampire honey when he could just as easily have him imprisoned somewhere to make winning Sookie easier. And it would undoubtedly be easy because even I could see the reluctant admiration in her eyes.

"Me? Admire Eric? Oh honey, I don't think so. I have no problems using Eric when I need something because God knows he's used me enough, but admire him? Hardly," she scoffed.

"You can say that if you want, but I can almost see the lust oozing out of your pores," I teased.

"Do you know what happens when you drink a vampire's blood?" she asked seriously.

I shook my head, unaware that one could even do that - I thought it was only the other way around.

"Lot's of things, but one of them is that you bond with them. Like…you start to feel things for them that you wouldn't normally feel. And the dreams." She sighed, "oh God, the dreams. They're erotic and disgusting and none of it is real. So whatever you see oozing out of my pores is the blood talking. It doesn't have anything to do with my real feelings."

I just stared at her.

"Okay maybe _a little_ of the lust is genuine. But only a little!" Sookie admitted. Then she changed subjects completely. "Hey listen, I never thanked you for your help with Bill. That fight he got into was pretty bad so I really appreciate you and your friends breaking that up. That wolf would have killed him if you hadn't."

"You're quite welcome," I replied simply.

"'Course, I'm gonna kill Bill myself if he doesn't turn up soon," she nearly growled while looking around the room impatiently.

"I don't think that will be necessary. Or maybe it might," Eric said grandly as he reappeared out of nowhere. Sookie perked right up, asking Eric to clarify, but just as he started to explain the ceiling to the left of us exploded.

Slivers of steel plundered to the floor in the midst of a set of tables all arranged in a semi-circle with a black suede couch lining the wall around them. The lights and music continued to pulse as pieces of metal were thrown haphazardly about the room. After my eyes adjusted to the chaos, I realized there was a man doing the throwing. A vampire who had bits of metal protruding from his skin which he was plucking out with forceful precision and tossing to the side as if they were just minor and slightly painful annoyances. He snatched a particularly large one out of his big black boot and stood up with an angry grunt, while searching for more smaller pieces to free from the rest of his body. He scowled at the gaping, jagged hole left in the ceiling where other patrons were staring down at him from another floor up above.

How far had he fallen? I couldn't see clearly through the darkness or the heads filling the hollow in the roof, but judging from the debris and the amount of blood left behind, I assumed it was from the very top floor of the ship. The music kept on, but every eye in the place was trained to the vampire who'd just, quite literally, crashed the party. His gaze traveled from the ceiling and scanned the entirety of the room in a few quick seconds before he dusted himself off, popped his neck with what sounded like a very uncomfortable snap, nonchalantly flicked a last shard of steal down to the floor by his booted feet and came strolling straight toward where Sookie and I were seated with Eric standing right beside us. He was headed for the door or so I thought before he stopped at our table.

"You."

He pointed to me, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared.

What could he possibly want with me? I didn't do anything and I didn't even know who he was. I recognized him from the dinner on the first night, but I never got his name. He didn't give me much time to wonder what he wanted with me and honestly, I should have known.

"You're a witch," he said assuredly.

"Yes," I managed to whisper, not confused anymore, but worried.

He nodded a few times while chewing slightly on the inside of his jaw, nostrils still flared in understated anger.

"And you can do hexes and jinxes and all that boogally-woogally stuff, right?" He waved his hands in the air, flitting his thin fingers back and forth like some sorry impression of jazz hands as he said the words 'boogally-woogally'. It would have made me laugh at any other time seeing how manic he looked and hearing those particular words. I noticed he paused for a moment, stared at his hands lingering longer over his right one at his naked index finger and then his jaw clenched before he stiffly put his hands back down by his side.

"In translation, you mean magic? Yes."

He gave me a millisecond smile while cocking his head infinitesimally to one side and mimicked me. "Magic. Yes."

Then he changed tacts, looking at Sookie. "I'm gonna need you, too, Telepath."

Need us? Need us for what?

"My name is not Telepath and I'm not helping you with a damn thing. I know you're the one that killed Bella," Sookie shot back bravely.

_Oh. _Everything clicked into place with Sookie's words.

Just about everyone had heard what happened involving some of the vampires on board. Bella was Edward Cullen's girlfriend. Edward had inadvertently almost killed her, but the Salvatore brothers saved her. And then one of them, Damon, killed her again for some unknown reason.

Damon immediately went on the defensive. "Hey! I did not kill her!"

Sookie gave him an oh-please-I'm-not-an-idiot look to which he responded quickly, "okay, I did kill her, but not dead dead." He shrugged his shoulder's and added, "she'll wake up" as if it was a fact that any imbecile should have been aware of.

"As a vampire!" Sookie shouted.

"And?" Damon replied indifferently, his expression oozing of that carefree, what's-your-point facade that suited him so well.

"I just need you to come with me so you can let me know if the walking mound of pixie dust is planning on pulling anything." He made an agitated gesture to his right hand. "And so you can tell me where the hell he's hiding my ring."

"I'm not coming with you," Sookie stated baldly.

"Oh yes you are." His voice caressed the words, making them sound both seductive and threatening.

I looked at Eric who was standing in the background simply observing. He didn't look as if he planned to intervene anytime soon. "And what do you need with me exactly?" I spoke up.

He made one of those inquiring faces at me as if to say the answer should be obvious.

"I know the….'boogally-woogally," - I felt ridiculous just saying it and I'm sure that showed plainly on my face and in the sound of my voice - "but what specifically?"

Damon looked at me seriously, saying one word perfectly clear. "Edward."

How dumb did this vamp think I was anyway? Like I didn't know that already. Irritated, I spelled it out for him.

"I can't exactly walk up to Edward Cullen and hex him. He'll know what I'm planning before I can even get my wand out of my bra!"

Damon arched one of his perfect eyebrows, lips turning up ever so slightly into a sexy half-smile. "You keep your wand in your bra?"

My face heated and I looked away embarrassed that I'd let that slip. "Only in this dress and that's beside the point," I mumbled looking anywhere but directly at Damon. What is it about the men on this boat all being gorgeous and able to rid a girl entirely of coherent thought?

Eric finally spoke up taking the attention away from me, for which I was grateful. "This has all been very enlightening," he said in his satiny-smooth voice, "but you're an idiot if you think either one of these women would help you to retaliate against him. I assume he's the one responsible for your grand entrance. Am I correct?"

Damon's only response was to make a _yeah-duh_ face to which Eric nodded, not surprised in the least. "You should handle that. Before the sun comes up." Eric's voice had a ring of finality to it along with the hint of a threat.

I could feel the heat pooling in the pit of my stomach again making me have a brief fantasy of stripping Eric right at the table. Upon seeing it in my mind, Sookie made a strange face somewhere between disturbed and elated.

"You don't speak for me!" Sookie shot out of nowhere, probably as a distraction for the visual I hadn't quite managed to shut down yet.

Eric gazed down at her, his expression and tone slightly exasperated. "Did you not just tell him you would never help him?"

"I did. But that was before you started speaking for me. And besides, your date isn't over and I'd really like to make sure that this asshole," nodding her head at Damon, "doesn't hurt my friend. Edward had every right to do what he did and I think I should go to make sure the confrontation stays as civil as possible."

"You are no longer worried about Bill, then?" Eric questioned.

Sookie deliberated, clearly at odds with her decision to help Damon as it was plain to everyone present that she was only doing it to spite Eric. After a moment, she licked her lips and a cover of resolve seemed to slip over her face. "Bill left me tonight without saying a single thing to me and I don't have the slightest idea why. I've been looking for him all night. I even stayed at the bar with Stefan for an hour and didn't see him once. He has no choice but to come back before sunrise so….no. I"m not worried about Bill. Irritated. Pissed off. Confused. Yes. Worried - absolutely not."

She turned to me and smiled briefly, "enjoy the rest of your date," before turning to Eric and warning him in a sharp voice, "and give it a rest with the misleading sexual innuendoes. We both know you don't have a red hot anything. You might as well have ordered her a dicksicle - at least that would have been believable."

She turned to make a hasty exit from the room when Eric smirked and replied softly, "we _both_ know, huh?"

Sookie seemed to realize what she'd implied and quickly came back with, "what can I say? I've had a lot of great vampire sex. _With Bill_."

The last two words she spoke wiped the smug look off of Eric's exceptionally beautiful face making it possible for Sookie to make her dramatic exit after all. Damon, having stood there and watched the entire exchange while silently seething, followed behind her, his face plastered with a calm facade to cover the murderous rage he was obviously feeling. I suspect he did laugh about the dickcicle comment after they were out of sight though.

After they both disappeared through the black double doors, I glanced at Eric trying to get a read on his mood. The evening had become awkward and I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue with it, but I also didn't want to leave Eric alone after the low blow he'd just been dealt. He seemed perfectly at ease once more, the brief flash of hurt having been wiped away completely and covered with a flawless indifference. He was staring at the chaos around the room; the pieces of steel, the gaping hole in the ceiling, the cruise creatures frantically clearing it away as half the patrons stared and talked animatedly amongst one another with the other half still dancing away to the pounding beats under the glowing lights. They definitely didn't waste any time getting things back in order, that's for sure.

I sighed and brought my wand from my immaculate hiding spot called cleavage and gave it a swish. "Repairo," I commanded in the direction of the debris. Every piece soared upward back into the ceiling, threatening to spear every person and creature who didn't immediately move out of the way. I felt a bit guilty for not thinking to warn everyone first, but it didn't seem as if anyone had been impaled and Eric was looking at me with this proud, sexy expression so, naturally, the guilt didn't last long before the lust engulfed me.

I wanted nothing more in that moment than for Eric to invite me to his room. I knew I would say yes like a playboy bunny in heat, but I also knew it wasn't the smartest idea so I didn't give him the chance to offer, assuming he even would have.

"It's been a wonderful evening, but I think I should head back to my room now. With all the distractions, I just think-"

"It's fine," he assured me quietly.

I barely heard the words escape his lips over the blaring music, but knew they were sincere. He didn't need or expect explanations and I assumed he had a lot of thoughts to sift through, most of which containing a certain blonde beauty who had very recently lit a match under his "dickcicle".

"I enjoyed your company this evening, Hermione. Be safe walking back to your cabin." He nodded his head in my direction, hands resting casually inside the pockets of his grey dress pants.

The awkwardness swooped back in as I realized he wouldn't be walking me to the door, I wouldn't get a kiss, a hug or even a goodnight handshake for that matter. Oddly though, I understood and didn't take offense. I gave a polite smile and turned to leave noticing that Eric was still looking in the direction Damon had come from, not taking a seat or even giving any sort of indication that he planned to. I couldn't help the sympathetic feeling that overtook me as I touched his arm and spoke.

"You know, Sookie told me about the blood and the feelings attached to it." He looked a tiny bit surprised as he gazed down at me, but I continued. "She also told me that not _all_ her feelings are about the blood." I looked into his eyes only for a moment; long enough to see that he understood what I was telling him. I saw an almost indiscernible spark of relief and hope there before letting my hand drift down the length of his jacket until it fell short at the place where his hands were resting in his pockets and walked out of the club.

As soon as I was out the door the sound of the music dissipated, my ears ringing in the silence. I started back to my room, but once there, I heard Ron and Harry's voices filtering through the door. I had hoped that they would be sleeping by the time I returned. I didn't stay to listen to what they were saying, instead turning away to go find something else to occupy my time. I wasn't ready to face Ron fearing that we would only lash out at one another again. It was always something with us and I didn't feel like dealing with that stress anymore tonight.

I walked upstairs to the upper level of the ship to see Damon and Sookie appearing to have some sort of heated exchange. I decided to go see if I could help. At the very least, I could freeze them and call someone to carry them to their rooms so the bickering would stop. "Hello again," I said to make my presence known. Yeah, it was lame, but it got the job done.

"There she is! Please!" he yelled holding his hands out imploringly toward me. "Please immobilize the fuck out of that motherfucker so I can get my ring back!" He pointed to a door directly across from where he and Sookie stood.

"Don't!" Sookie countered.

"Why not? I was under the impression that Damon couldn't come out in the daytime without his ring," I said seeking clarification as to why they would be arguing over whether or not I helped him get it back.

"Exactly. Which means he won't be bothering anyone at that time!"

Damon rolled his eyes and shrugged Sookie's words off as he turned to me with an almost desperate expression. Or as desperate as I imagined Damon ever got anyway.

"Look, Bella's going to be awake soon and I need to be there to explain the transition to her. I just want to help her get through this and I can't if Sparkly Pants doesn't hand over my ring because if he doesn't I'm going to kill him and then his family and Bella will hate me and try to kill me and then Stefan will have to kill them for revenge, but eating bunnies doesn't exactly make him the epitome of strength and power so he'll probably just hurt himself and then Elena will have to save his pussy ass and get herself hurt…." He rolled his eyes again, let out a gusty breath and continued with his enormous run-on sentence. "It's a vicious cycle. Do you get what I'm sayin' here? I want it back. Tonight. Or I swear, I will make things a hundred times worse than they are now."

I didn't even consciously consider the answer before I strolled the few feet over the Cullen's door and knocked. A beautiful woman with caramel colored hair and a heart-shaped face answered seeming to know immediately who I was, if not what I wanted also and smiled kindly as she extended her arm in invitation. I thanked her and she kept the door open telling Sookie and Damon they could both come in as well. The expression on her face told me she probably knew they were there the whole time. She was just waiting for them to decide what they were going to do.

Once we were all inside, the first thing I noticed was that the room was quite crowded. Then, I noticed the still figure peacefully laid upon the bed that the whole group seemed to congregate around. Edward sat by her side looking for all the world like the most desolate soul to ever glide across the Earth. It was heartbreaking and I understood instantly why he would want to smash Damon through a few floors of pure steel. What I didn't understand was why he took the ring and I wanted to hear his side of the events before I made a decision as to whether or not I would help Damon. I wondered if it would do me any good considering both Edward and Sookie could hear my every thought and Edward could stop me from doing anything before I even came to a conclusive decision. He seemed like an honorable man, though, so I was wiling to give him the benefit of the doubt. He shook his head, empty eyes gazing at the floor as that thought flowed through my mind. I couldn't be sure if it was my thoughts he was disagreeing with or someone else's, but that wasn't the important thing at the moment. There was business that needed be attended to and I was happy to play the mediator because it meant I didn't have to go face Ron for another hour at least. It had to be after one in the morning already. He was probably going crazy wondering what I was up to. I smiled inwardly before speaking to the room.

"Sorry to intrude. I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Hermione."

The woman with the kind face smiled and looked at me with compassionate golden eyes. "We know dear. I'm Esme and this is my husband, Carlisle and our son, Edward." She gestured to a very young, handsome, blonde-haired man first and then to the boy with the ageless sadness emanating from him in electric waves.

I found myself once again wondering why all vampires had to be unbearably gorgeous because it was totally inappropriate to be thinking about how fuckhot Edward is while he's sitting next to the almost undead love of his life, not to mention the fact that he could hear me thinking it. And to top it all off, his dad was almost as hot as him.

_How creepy is that- that I'm hot for the dad? _I thought to myself. Or to myself, Edward and maybe Sookie if she was listening.

I glanced over at her and saw she was shooting blazing glares between Damon and Bill, who she had apparently found at last, which told me she wasn't tuned into my head right now. From what I heard about Edward, he was tuned into everybody's head at all times so there was little to no hope that he hadn't just heard every single mortifying thought that just ran through my twisted brain.

I mentally shook myself to get back on track as I realized Esme was still making introductions. With the part of my brain that was still functioning like an intelligent being, I heard her say the names Alice, Jasper and Rosalie.

Once I regained the full use of my normal attention span, she was pointing at a big, muscular delicious-looking vampire that she called Emmett. Then she gestured to a beautiful brunette named Elena and her boyfriend, Stefan who is also Damon's brother. When she came to Bill, Sookie shot him one of those you-have-a-lot-of-explaining-to-do looks which he tried to ignore as he smiled politely and nodded his head at me.

The last to be introduced was Jacob Black, who I actually did recognize as the wolf from the first night. Harry and I were the ones to transport everyone back to their rooms after Harry broke up the fight. Jacob was the last to go and once we lifted the magic, he shifted from his wolf form to his human form before we were able to get all the way out of the room.

I can't say I was surprised that he was all abs and completely hot, but I was surprised that he'd be hanging out in a room with a bunch of vampires - one of them being Bill who he'd tried to kill recently - when he'd made his hatred of them quite plain that night in his room.

He was yelling at the top of his lungs about bloodsuckers, killers and leeches and how we should have let him tear every one of them apart. He was so angry that he started shaking violently, but Harry and I departed before we could catch anymore of what was coming. I wondered why the Cullens would even want him here with them. He seemed volatile and so full of rage and hatred. Also, he was a wolf! Wolves are awful, vicious creatures!

My attention was brought back to earth by the infinitesimal shift in the curve of Edward's mouth. It was like a half smirk and he looked up and met my eyes for the briefest of seconds, obviously finding something amusing in my thoughts. I had to get back on track. Again.

"And this is Bella," I confirmed gesturing to the still, white figure on the center of the bed. Her mahogany hair was fanned out around her head like a chaotic halo of sorts. Even dead, she was beautiful.

"How long before she's awake?" I asked.

The tiny girl with the short black hair that I think Esme said was Alice spoke up quickly. "Twenty-three minutes." She said it as if she were precisely sure she was right.

"She is," Edward said. It took me off guard for a moment until I realized he was answering my inquiring thought about how Alice could be so sure and exact in her estimate. "It's not an estimate. Alice can see the future," Edward explained. "Well, _most_ of the time," he added.

That's convenient. And pretty damn awesome.

"So, if you can see the future," I addressed Alice, "isn't it possible to see whether or not Damon actually wants to help her like he says? I think if he wants to help, he should be given the chance," I said fairly.

"I can see that he does want to help - that isn't the question at all. You're wondering about the ring, right?"

I nodded.

"Edward didn't take it so Damon can't help Bella. They'd have to stay indoors for that anyway because Stefan informed us that Bella will be very sensitive to sunlight until the transformation is complete at which point she won't be able to go out during the day at all. She doesn't have a ring, you see."

"Okay then, so why did he take it?"

Alice looked back and forth between Edward and I.

"Edward?" I asked.

"I took it because I want to see if he'll be able to walk in the sun without it," Edward relayed tonelessly.

"See, now you're just being a smart ass," Damon exhaled wryly.

"No actually, I'm not. We're going to see if my venom keeps you from exploding when the sun comes up," he said seriously. There was a bit of devilish pleasure in Edward's expression that I couldn't help but admire given the situation.

Damon didn't seem that amused, but he was taking it like a very unfunny joke. "So what, you plan on draining me now, too? Dude, I am so not kissing you."

"Not funny," Edward and Alice said at exactly the same time.

Emmett interrupted before I could ask what the bloody hell they were talking about. "He doesn't have to bite you jackass. He already pumped you full of his venom about an hour ago. All there is to do now is wait."

Damon looked utterly confused. I assumed it was for the same reason as me- I didn't understand when Edward would have had a chance to inject Damon with his venom without Damon knowing about it.

Suddenly, something hit me in the side from the direction Edward was on and fell to the floor with a tinkling sound. I bent down and retrieved a small glass syringe from the floor. It was empty.

"Just before I threw Damon through the floor…" Edward elaborated and nodded a bit toward the syringe that I gathered used to be full of his own venom. "I have more for Bella, but I was afraid to test it on her. I figured he did this to her. The least he could do is be the experiment on her behalf."

Damon looked like he was about to go insane with rage. "You people don't listen at all do you?" he screamed. "This never would have happened if you didn't almost kill her yourself!"

"You think I don't know that? That I haven't been sitting here blaming myself for this - drowning in guilt? But she would have been fine! Your blood would have passed out of her system by now and she'd be fine if you hadn't decided you hated me enough to kill the only reason for my existence!"

Damon seemed to calm a little at those words, but I was sure it was one of those calm-before-the-storm type scenarios. He seemed to be most dangerous when one least expected him to be. "You think I killed her because I hate you? For a tortured, self-loathing bastard, you sure are full of yourself. Other than the fact that you're trying to kill me, what reason - before now - did I ever have to hate you?"

Edward was quiet for a moment as he seemed to read whatever was going through Damon's mind. Realization struck his expression at whatever he found and Damon continued to enlighten the rest of us. "I didn't kill Bella to get back at you for anything. I was actually kind of jealous of your pansy ass a little bit and if any of you ever tell anyone that, I'll deny it until the day someone puts a stake through my heart," Damon threatened while pointing around the room.

"You've got the one woman in the whole world that you want and she wants you back. Only you and there's absolutely nothing that can change that - not even me which is something because we all know I'm, by far, the most superior on the Sexy Beast Scale," he joked. Of course Damon would have to mask any sort of vulnerability behind a snarky comment. As he went on though, his face and tone became more somber. "Neither of you could be whole without the other. And _that_ is why I killed Bella. So she could be with your stupid ass the way she wants to be. Forever."

It was silent for a long while so that everyone could digest the news that Damon wasn't actually the cold, calculating son-of-a-bitch everyone thought he was. He actually had a heart and he had a soft spot for love. Where it came from, I wasn't sure, but if things went right tonight, I made it my mission to figure Damon Salvatore out before this cruise was over.

"She begged you to do it because I wouldn't. And I would have known that if I hadn't been too blinded with rage before to look inside your mind and see it." Edward was the first to speak and if the room hadn't been completely silent, I wouldn't have heard his words. If he looked desolate before, he sounded even more so now. "It really is all my fault," he breathed.

"Damn right it is," Damon muttered.

"Damon!" Elena admonished as she rushed toward him.

"What? It's the truth."

"You don't have to rub it in. Things are bad enough already."

"Well I plan to make them much worse if someone doesn't give me back my ring," Damon said in a pleasant, but mocking voice.

Edward started to reach into his pocket, but one of his sisters, Rosalie, stepped up to stop him. "Wait!" she said as she placed her hand on Edward's shoulder. "The sun doesn't come up for another few hours. I think we should still consider this…the experiment."

Exasperated, Damon threw his arms in the air, whirled around letting out a frustrated, growling sigh and spun back to face the Cullens who all seemed to group together around Bella on one side of the room.

"Why!" He exclaimed. "Why is it so important that she be like you? I can get her a ring like mine so she can walk in the sun! She won't sparkle, but she won't explode either. The two of you can go frolic in a meadow somewhere or go live with the leprechauns for all I care - I don't give a fuck! I just need my ring!"

"And what about her diet?" Rosalie countered.

"She can hunt bunnies and cute little golden retrievers with Stefan. Problem solved."

"No, I'm afraid it isn't," Carlisle stated calmly.

Damon shrugged. "Well there is that little matter of her having to feed on a human to complete the transformation, but I wasn't exactly thinking about that part when I did all the Romeo and Juliet, bleeding-heart bullshit. Excuse the fuck out of me."

"There's no need to get defensive son, but we need to figure out what we're going to do about this," Carlisle asserted in a firm but calm manner.

"One," Damon contested, holding up a pale, slim index finger, "I am not your son. Edward is. He's the genius that has all the answers apparently so why don't you talk to him about this mess after he gives me my ring back."

"Two," he pointed at Edward, "he's the one who wouldn't change her for his own stupid reasons and none of you would do it because of him, so I think I have every right to get defensive for helping that girl if I want to. Am I a bad guy? Sure. Yeah, whatever. I've done lot's of awful things that I really don't give a shit about. But I'm not taking the blame for this one and feeling guilty just because I was the only one who gave a damn about what _Bella_ wanted. Do I think it's a dumb ass idea personally? Of course I do. But I can't answer that question for Bella and none of you should have either."

Once again, we all stood in silence. I, for one, was shocked. Imagine Damon of all people being the one to put everyone in their place - repeatedly. I came in the room to get facts, to mediate if need be and to decide which team I was planning to bat for; Damon's or Edward's. But, clearly, they were on the same side even if they were taking completely different approaches. Everyone in this room loved or felt connected to Bella in some form or another and the collective objective was to save her so that she and Edward could be together. It was really romantic. And tragic, because I didn't miss it when Damon said she'd have to feed on human blood to complete the transformation and I gathered that was something that no one really wanted to happen.

But if it didn't, Bella would die for real this time.

I wondered if it mattered whether one was entirely human or not. Elena was the only person aboard that I knew of who was perfectly human, but if that didn't matter, it meant that Sookie was in danger also. Harry, Ron….and me. But surely we would dock somewhere soon? There were always tourist attractions on these kinds of trips and the boat would have to dock at some point to refuel. What would we do about Bella then? If "we" even made it that far.

"Bella will open her eyes in nine minutes. She's not going to be herself so can we just get all the bickering out of the way now, please?"

"Alice is right," Carlisle sighed.

"Mr. Cullen? You're a doctor, aren't you?" I asked timidly. He nodded politely. "And you drew the venom from Edward so I take that to mean you have supplies here on board with you?"

"Of course."

"Couldn't you just take blood from a human on board to give to Bella to complete the change? Or even order some from one of the bars? That's what Eric did when I was with him earlier tonight."

"No." Damon spoke before anyone else could. "She actually has to make the…uh…attack."

"You mean she has to kill someone?" I gasped.

"Not kill them, no. Just hunt…and then let her new senses take over. The problem with that is that she probably won't be able to control herself and will end up killing anyone she does go after."

He seemed upset by the information even though I could tell he was trying to mask it. Elena was still standing beside him and upon seeing his expression, she laid a comforting hand across his back. I watched Stefan eyeing the two of them like he might rush to get in between then at any moment. Poor guy. So much for figuring Damon out - it was easier than I thought. Elena was his soft spot. And Stefan's.

_The competition must be killing him_.

"It is," Edward smiled sadly at me and I gave a small smile in return.

Everyone else stared questioningly at the two of us until Damon spoke again.

"So, you think your venom could prevent her from having to feed in order to become a vampire?" he asked Edward.

"There's a possibility. We'd have to inject her with it while she's still part human though and I don't know what other effects it might have. It could make her more volatile, blood-thirsty, put her in a coma of sorts - a whole host of things. It could have no effects at all or it could kill her." His voice became weak and cracked when he spoke about Bella possibly dying. "But there's no way of knowing unless we test it out first. And even if it does have some effect on you, there's no guarantee the changes will be the same for her because you're already a vampire - it won't be the same, I'm sure of it. I just needed some tiny fraction of hope, false or otherwise, that this could work and you were in the position to give it to me."

"Oh let me guess. You figured I owed it to you or something, huh?"

"At the time, absolutely. But now…only a little. That was just a feeble and failed attempt to apologize and maybe get you to sympathize. I'm sorry for attacking you. You deserved it, don't get me wrong - but I should have gone about things in a different manner. Elena, I apologize to you as well. I shouldn't have behaved so in front of you."

So formal.

"No blood, no foul, right? Sometimes I wish I could do that to Damon, too," she laughed.

Damon's eyes lit up momentarily at her words. "I always knew you wanted me," he teased. "I didn't mean I wish I could tackle you. I was talking about the awesome part that came after that. You might remember…that time you got your ass handed to you by a vampire that glitters."

"Oooh, burn," Emmett said as he and Jasper chuckled.

"Six minutes," Alice chimed.

"If you give me my ring back, I'll agree to your experiment. I'm not planning on going straight out in the sun or anything, but I'll do your little test. And if Bella can't walk in the sunlight again, I'll find some way to get her a ring or something like mine so that she can. Deal?"

"How do we know you won't just disappear after you get your ring back?" Jasper asked rationally.

"Because I'm a dick, not a coward. And if I _were_ a coward, my brother is much too chivalrous not to hold up my end of the deal should I decide I don't feel up to it. Right, Stefan?" Damon gave one of his infamous millisecond smiles to his brother before going on. "And besides that, it's not like I'm offering to go stake myself for the girl- I'm just offering to poke my hand out of a window and tell you if it fries or not- no big deal."

Everyone looked to Edward who was focused intently on Bella. He nodded and said, "he means it."

He reached in his pocket a bit defeatedly, pulled out Damon's ring and held it out to me.

Suddenly, I had an idea. I stared at Edward, silently asking for his opinion while everyone else in the room, with the exception of Jacob, paired off into their own private conversations. His eyes lit up with the most hope I'd seen in them that night.

"That is a good idea, Hermione. If we do it before Bella wakes up and it works, maybe I can give her the venom before then. The transition from human to vampire is a painful one and I'm afraid it will hurt even more if we try to do it while she's awake."

Alice struck a startled glance at us and I assumed she'd just seen what Edward and I were planning. "You have five minutes," was all she said.

I didn't waste any time asking for anymore opinions or even to explain what I was about to do to Damon. I knew I would probably feel horrible about it later, but there was little time to dwell on that now. I pulled my wand from the front of my bra - noticing for only a second how a few of the boys' heads turned in my direction, probably wondering why I was sticking my hand down the front of my dress - before silently invoking a spell that sent a hot, yellow stream of liquid sunlight directly at a ringless Damon.

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	8. Chapter 7  Making Soup

**Hello once again! **

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**Chapter 7**

**~Jasper~**

Being an empath sucked motherfucking ass.

It was even worse when one was a vampire empath… as a human, it's bad enough. You don't exactly feel the emotions of others, but you're hypersensitive to those feelings; you can pick up on and understand almost _everything,_ which makes it hard to choose a side when that kind of thing is called for. You can see what someone is feeling enough for it to affect you. That information either makes you desperately desire to help that person or run away and hide. The point is that you can choose. You can choose to use that charisma that seems to come along with being empathic and do what you can to help or you can walk away. If you can clear your mind of it, you can forget about it and move on. As a human, this is easy enough to accomplish without feeling an irrational amount of guilt.

This is not the case as a vampire. Every sense, every emotion, every ability is heightened beyond belief. I'm not just hypersensitive - I actually have to feel this shit. And the closer I am to someone emotionally, the farther away I have to be before their emotions aren't bearing down on me, suffocating me. Which means I have to put this whole damn ocean in between me and Edward in order to get the hell away from his constant emo bullshit which is now intensified a hundred fold by the fact that he tried to eat Bella's mouth. The man needs a therapy session, stat.

And did I mention that vampires remember absolutely everything? So even if I did decide to flee from the ship, my guilt for leaving my family - for leaving Bella - at such a turbulent time would just eat me alive (or undead) until I swam my little pansy, emotional ass right back here.

Plus, I couldn't leave Alice or ask her to choose between either coming with me or staying with Bella. Of course, she'd come with me, but she'd be royally pissed off; and my girl is a firecracker when she's pissed off, and totally not above withholding sex. She's not like Rose; Rose's emotional climate always toggles between bitchy or horny. (Sometimes both at the same time.) This causes her to be unable to go without sex for a single day, because if she did, she'd be completely intolerable. Alice, however, is like a beacon of sunshine - happiness just exudes out of her most of the time - which means she doesn't require nearly as many orgasms to be pleasant toward others. Much to my utter dismay.

So, no, I won't be running away. I'll be trapped here, in this room on this God forsaken boat, with all these damned _emotions_. So many, in fact, that I don't even know what the fuck I'm feeling right now other than being supremely irritated.

Not that my family was irritating. Of course they'd all be concerned and worried; I'd expect nothing less, especially from Edward. It was just that feeling so many things at once was simply overwhelming. It took a lot of effort to control my ability - to separate the feelings so that they didn't fuse together into one crazy conglomeration of "freak the fuck out soup."

Alice is pretty devastated because she thinks she caused this whole mess and, in a way, she did. But she had her reasons and something would have happened regardless. Alice's instincts were good and the fact that she saw that this was going to happen and didn't stop it meant that she truly believed it was the right thing. I tried to convince her that second-guessing herself wouldn't do her any good, but it was no use; she was still feeling unsure of herself. She tried so hard to shield her feelings from me, but we were so remarkably in tune that it was impossible. Edward's feelings of helplessness and anguish were so overpowering that he was the one I was feeling most, but Alice was a close second.

Then there's Esme who was born to be a mother. She's such a genuine and caring woman that she feels responsible as well and the only conclusion I can come to for why she feels that way is because she approved so whole-heartedly of Edward's decision to stay with Bella because it made him happy. In short, she put Edward's happiness in front of Bella's safety and now both were in jeopardy. I know Esme well enough to be almost certain that I'm right. Carlisle, being the compassionate man that he is, feels saddened, but there is a determination I can feel buzzing in the background that I can only assume means his ever-intelligent brain is hard at work trying to find a solution…a way out.

Next to Alice, Emmett has the most effortless emotional climate to bathe in on a typical day, but considering that today hasn't been what I would call a typical day even for a family of vampires, his hasn't been much more pleasant than anyone else's. Emmett's melancholy was admittedly a lighter feeling than all the rest in the room, but compared with his usual jovial nature, it was downright suicide inducing. Too bad that wasn't an option for me at the moment.

Beside him Rose who was, as usual, bitchy. We were also blessed with the stench - I mean, _presence_ - of Jacob Black. Can I just say that I've never been a dog lover? They may be loyal, but they smell, they piss everywhere and they eat their own regurgitation. 'Nuff said. He was feeling vehement rage along with a piercing worry, but holding it back quite well probably due to the fact that there were eight vampires in the room who wouldn't mind ripping him limb from disgusting, furry limb.

The eighth vampire was Bill Compton. He came in just after the sun went down to inquire about Bella's condition and decided to stay once he saw that she wasn't any better. There was some hostility there that was directed toward Jacob, but there was no secret as to why he should be feeling that. I sent Bill a small wave of, 'back the fuck off' and then I sent Jacob a little spark of, 'down, boy!', once I saw his nose hairs bristling. It wasn't my most effective chill-pill ever, but it did the job well enough to make them both stop hiking their legs in Bella's direction.

After all, that was Edward's pissing territory. Edward shot me a warning glare at this thought to which I silently apologized. I wasn't normally this abrasive and I was more aware than anyone of Edward's feelings for Bella; so much, that on more than one occasion, I found myself having inappropriately passionate feelings about her, none of which were really my own. So I had no right to imply that his feelings were anything but genuine. He seemed a bit peeved about Bill's arrival, but I thought it was quite admirable of Bill to be there for Bella considering he'd only known her for a few short nights. Apparently, he became taken with her just like almost every other person in the cabin.

Rosalie was the exception, but her attitude toward Bella wasn't because she didn't like her. It was simply jealously and the fact that she couldn't understand Bella's convoluted desire to be a blood draining monster instead of chasing after babies and churning her own butter.

Bill had been with us for a few hours when Alice had a vision of the other visitors we would soon be graced with and the sudden burst of undiluted fury that exuded from Edward made me want to decimate every individual in the room. Alice managed to get a handle on Edward quickly enough that I was able to come back to my senses and shoot him a potent wave of calm. It was the first time I'd been able to penetrate his intense emotional state for the past two days. It wasn't all due to the fact that he was feeling too strongly to dilute; a lot of it was because I was under such emotional stress that I couldn't seem to get a hold on myself enough to control that aspect of my ability. I had just enough working in my favor to occasionally send short bursts of tranquility to each of the members of my family intermittently, but not enough to affect their moods for long and every time I did it, I'd lose a little of the calm I had over myself. It all goes back to that boiling pot of freak the fuck out soup - I had to keep a lot of that peace for myself or I was going to explode on every creature on this boat. I felt selfish for a few moments for doing this, but then I realized that it was for everyone else's benefit as much as my own so I decided that it wasn't selfish at all to want to keep the lid on that particular delicacy. I was already a deadly motherfucker in my human life. Becoming a vampire had exponentially increased that specific craft, second only to my uncanny ability to both receive and manipulate the feelings of others.

Soon, Stefan and Elena joined us, both looking hesitant and feeling the same. Worry and regret charged throughout Stefan's demeanor and was echoed almost exactly by Elena. I wondered why Edward would be so upset about their arrival, but was quickly informed that theirs was not the visit Edward was so livid about. Alice filled us in on the details that Edward neglected to mention upon his return from the "run" he claimed he desperately needed earlier when he left the room so hastily.

"Surely, Edward, you could have mentioned that you were planning on throwing that bastard through two floors of steel, stealing his sun-whatever-the-fuck ring and filling him with sparkle juice to me and Jazz? That's just too much fun to miss. Selfish," Emmett muttered, shaking his head in disappointment at Edward.

That earned a scowl from Edward, Carlisle and Esme and a light chuckle from the rest of us. Even Jacob couldn't hold back a smirk.

Then, Elena caught us up on her running to find Stefan afterwards and coming directly to our cabin, figuring this is where Damon would come as soon as he was able to.

Apparently, they were right and Edward seemed both wildly infuriated and cheerful about this fact. An odd combination, but he explained his reasoning when Emmett asked what the rest of us were tentative to bring up in conversation in fear of getting Edward all wound up and crazy again.

"So, dude…why are you all butthurt that Damon wants to come here and kick your ass if that's exactly what you wanted him to do?"

"Because I loathe him for what he did to Bella and seeing his face makes me want to tear the wooden legs off this bed and riddle his body with holes. But, I need him at least until the sun comes up if I'm going to have any hope of saving her," he rattled off in a fast, monotone voice without moving an inch from where he sat gazing at Bella.

Cryptic much? I looked to Alice to elaborate since Edward clearly wasn't going to. Normally, she jumped at the chance to expel other people's big plans, but this one, she was hesitant to mention. She didn't see what was happening until it was already too late to stop because Edward had very cleverly used the *"split-second decision" limitation on Alice's visions to get one over on her.

About an hour after Alice's initial vision regarding visitors, we all heard Sookie and Damon approaching outside our door. I felt brief and meager spurts of annoyance, aggravation and anger from the both of them even from outside the door, which only provoked my own similar feelings to amplify further. We listened while they bickered about whether or not they were coming in and what may or may not happen once they did.

So indecisive.

Nothing would ever get done if we waited for those two and I, for one, wasn't about to sit there and stew while waiting for them to decide. I wasn't eager for the extra floodgate of innervations, but I did want to go ahead and get all the hostility out of the way while I still had a small amount of control over my affect on the others. And myself. I shot out of my seat like a bolt of lightening and flew to the door, only to be blocked by Edward who was instantly joined by Alice.

"You can move. I'm not going to harm them. I'm simply going to tell them to make up their minds before I explode," I explain quietly, teeth clenched.

I felt as if I was about to crack under the strain of all the emotional activity in the room. It's too much for one person to internalize and deal with on their own; super empath or not.

"We know, Jazz," Alice cooed. "But, if you open the door now with emotions running as high and low as they are, you should know better than anyone what will happen. Besides, Hermione is on her way up the stairs now. She'll help diffuse them so you don't have to. They'll all be coming in about five minutes from now."

"Alice, I'm not sure Jasper has five minutes". Edward turned to me and scolded, "You should have left hours ago. This is too much stress for you and no one would have blamed you if you needed a breather. But, if you lose control of yourself now, when I am this close to getting the answers I need to help Bella-so help me-I will make sure you regret it."

"Edward!" Esme and Carlisle gasp together at the same time that Alice yells, "Seriously? Back off. You're being an idiot."

Edward was just about to protest, but I interrupted.

"No," I breathed to Alice. "Edward is right. I should have left hours ago. It's too much," I admit shamefully.

I always seemed so much weaker than the others for one reason or another. I didn't want this to be a time - when we all needed each other so badly - that I abandoned them because I couldn't handle the intensity of all the agony and regret floating about the room. I realized that if I wanted to help them in any capacity at all, I needed to get myself together first and I couldn't do that without a little space.

I was also a little peeved with Edward for not saying something earlier. If he had spoken up, maybe that would have forced me to "get some fresh air", so to speak, and I wouldn't be feeling so out of control right now. I could have earlier, but now it wasn't an option because I knew I'd be needed to assuage the ferocity between Damon and…well, all the rest of us. He released his hold on me and answered my thoughts quietly, but no matter how quiet he was everyone would still hear anyway.

"I didn't ask you to leave earlier for the exact reason that you didn't go. Your pride. I didn't want you to feel weak because you aren't. Truthfully, you've been holding yourself together quite well. You _can_ control this. And if you feel like you can't, you're free to leave whenever you like."

I could feel Edward's sincerity, even tinged as it was with impatience and the ever-present misery.

I put on a hard face and willed myself to get it together. I was helped along quite a bit by my family, who made a very obvious but welcome effort to generate some positive feelings about the air. Everyone pitched in except for Jacob, who was dead-set against making anything easier on a bloodsucker. After several moments, I took a deep, unnecessary breath, nodded to my wife and we walked hand in hand together back to my seat. Alice perched in my lap, wrapping her slender arms around my neck and I allowed her to be my source of calm and comfort for a few moments. Before I knew it, while there was still a cornucopia of negative emotions permeating the atmosphere, I had more control than I felt since the whole mess with Bella began. We could still hear Damon and Sookie quibbling outside the door, but I blocked their trivial irritations with one another almost effortlessly. Even so, I was relieved when I heard Hermione's arrival and purposely reached out to feel her waves of collected logicality.

Soon, Esme was walking to the door and wrenching it open, her impatience finally getting the better of her. She was polite to our guests, as always, because Esme could never be inhospitable, but I could feel her basic instinct to kill coming through the moment Damon stepped in the door. She masked it like the pro she was.

The whole exchange took more time than anyone would have liked, being that Bella would soon be awake, but throughout it I could feel in earnest what Damon tried so hard to hide from the majority of the people he met.

Guilt, remorse, pain, disgust, restraint…all that on top of the overwhelming rage he was emitting. He wasn't quite the hard ass he wanted the general public to believe he was, but I wouldn't betray his secret. Sometimes, I feel an inexplicable duty to protect what I know about people, even if those people don't always deserve it. I had a feeling it would all be coming out in due time, anyway.

We'd have to spend a lot of time with Damon if he was going to be helping Bella, because there's no way in hell any of us would be leaving him alone with her again. Even me, and I knew first hand how guilty and overwrought he felt with himself. I used my ability to calm some of that, as well as to help keep the conversation civil. I had a feeling if anyone got too heavily into it right now, it would be a fight to the death and honestly, I didn't think I could take anymore of that right now. Bella hovering on the edge of the unknown was more than awful enough.

There were only a few more minutes left before Bella would begin to stir when some of the feelings in the room started to shift in a rather curious direction. Alice had a brief vision where she blanked out for a few seconds, so I knew something was definitely coming after that. It was like I felt the air around me change, bend and flex around me in a way that I'd never felt before. I couldn't tell what emotion I was feeling. It all made sense when Hermione shot a golden sliver of light out of the tip of her wand very akin to sunlight.

It wasn't emotion I was feeling, but magic. Funny. I didn't realize until that moment that magic was something I could feel outside of mine and Alice's bedroom.

The luminous streak of sunlight set the whole room ablaze in a way that made myself and all my family shimmer blindingly. Our facets of shining, incandescent diamond skin ricocheted off of each other and every other surface in the room until the light was all gold and white speckled with bits of color from the rainbow.

Sookie and Elena were immediately shoved down to the floor and covered by Bill and Stefan respectively, which I'm guessing was to shield them from the sheer heat of it. It felt like liquid fire even to me and I was farther away than everyone else.

I couldn't see much after that because, as sensitive as our vision is, the brightness physically hurt to look at. I had to shut my eyes and all I was left with for a few unbearably long moments were the sounds of torturous pain, the heat and feelings of explosive fear coming from several different directions. I clutched Alice to me in a death grip and didn't release my hold until I was sure it was over. I saw, through my closed eyelids, how the world suddenly got pitch dark in comparison to the gleaming radiance of only seconds before. When I opened my eyes, the light was once again coming only from a few bulbs in the ceiling and on the tables throughout the room. It took less than a second to assess everyone's physical well being. All fine. Except for Bill.

While Damon laid flat on his back, unscathed and astonished, Bill lay on top of Sookie in a bloody, rubbery heap. The force of the scintillating beams Hermione rendered was so powerful that in the ten seconds she held on to the magic, Bill had become unrecognizable. His skin was literally melted to his bones.

Sookie was crouched underneath him, sobbing and shrieking uncontrollably. I sent her wave after wave of calm, but couldn't do much to relieve her pain. _Pain._ Of course! Not emotional pain, but physical. Her skin was on fire from being in contact with Bill's smoldering flesh.

Edward and I seemed to react at exactly the same moment, but Emmett reached her first, having been closer. He wrenched Bills body from the top of hers, burned skin stretching along like melted cheese as he laid Bill down gently, but quickly on the floor.

It seemed Bill had managed to keep skin to skin contact with her to a minimum after he realized he was burning, but even so, Sookie was left with large patches of raw, angry skin smattered all across her exposed back and shoulders. A few smaller burn marks were on her neck and arms as well.

Rose took Sookie by her waist and lifted her carefully to carry her to the bed at Carlisle's instruction while he knelt down to examine Bill. Sookie was still conscious and in plenty of pain, but having Bill's body removed from the top of hers was an instant relief so she let up on the shrieking. Instead she was just panting heavily, trying to get out words that just didn't want to make an escape.

I noticed after a moment that Edward and Sookie were looking very intently at one another, obviously into another silent exchange. Their gifts sure were convenient in times like these.

Edward asked aloud for an update on Bill's condition for Sookie and Carlisle confirmed that he was alive (or perhaps, still undead would be the better way to put it) but couldn't say for how long. Elena offered to go get him some blood to help him heal and Stefan followed along behind her. Carlisle didn't know if it would even help considering the severity of his condition, though it was most definitely worth a shot if they hurried.

Once Stefan and Elena departed, Carlisle went to inspect Sookie who had been laid flat on her stomach on the bed beside Bella. Rose untied the fabric of her halter top from around her neck so that Carlisle could get a better look and then she left for nearly two seconds and returned with his medicine bag.

Hermione hadn't said a word throughout the entire thing. She stared, eyes wide with shock at the events playing out before her. It was clear she hadn't thought of Bill when her little plan occurred to her. Horror and remorse cascaded from her very soul as she gazed at Bill with fat tears spilling in a flood down her now pale cheeks. I watched as she gulped, her wand tumbled to the floor and she fled the room in a panic. Jacob started to go after her, but stammered when he passed by Bella's bed and saw her finger twitch.

That's when all hell broke lose.

Damon, having been struck silent and seemingly frozen to the floor hadn't made a move the entire few minutes that all the commotion was going on. He was bewildered and relieved, in awe and utter disbelief and absolutely flooded with a confused sort of hope. His light blue eyes traveled to Bella the instant she twitched and he spoke the words that sent everyone else, including myself, into a frenzy of motion.

"I didn't die," he half-laughed in wry surprise before adding carelessly to Edward - almost as a side note - "and, by the way, you're girlfriend is waking up. I'd move the blood buffet away from her if I were you," gesturing to Sookie and the open wounds that Carlisle was just beginning to dress. There was a sudden cadence of movement after that in which we all simultaneously reacted.

I moved closer to Bella in an effort to better influence her unpredictable emotional state as she twitched again once more. I took Alice with me as she was in the middle of another vision, which had her incapacitated and surely was about whatever events were going to follow this one.

Carlisle snatched Sookie off the bed and passed her to Rose who rushed her into the bathroom. Esme was attempting to care for Bill even though there was next to nothing she could do. Edward reached into his pocket for the syringe containing his venom and at a strikingly swift speed, sent the needle plunging into Bella's heart as Emmett leapt onto the bed to pin down her increasingly active form. She was fighting so hard by this point that Jacob even leant his strength by holding down her legs so she'd stop kicking. Edward pulled another syringe from his pocket, pulled the cap off with his teeth and drove a second needle into her skin as she writhed underneath him, Emmett and Jacob. Bella was back with a vengeance, apparently.

That's when Stefan and Elena returned with a wheelbarrow- literally, a fucking wheelbarrow- full of bagged blood for Bill.

They stopped to gawk at a frantic and screaming Bella only for a moment before Elena took the blood to Bill and Stefan came to assist with what Damon should have been helping with; getting Bella to calm the fuck down. I was sending out every ounce of peace I could muster, Bella was drinking it all in, albeit unwillingly and it still wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

"She shouldn't be like this yet. What the hell happened?" Stefan yelled to no one in particular.

Damon chose that moment to chime in, unbidden, with his two cents. "It could be that somebody had the bright idea to lay a bleeding woman down right next to a half vampire woman, thus driving her into an early frenzy because she sniffed the blood in her sleep. She woke up craving it and then she was pinned down and attacked with needles full of flaming pixie dust. Your panties would be ruffled, too, Stefan, if that happened to you", he said nonchalantly.

Edward snarled at Damon and demanded to know what needed to be done from Stefan, who he obviously trusted significantly more than Damon.

"There's no way to say for sure now that your venom is in her system. It could run its course and turn her without her having to feed or…anything could happen," he said in a rush. He was frustrated, it seemed, with Bella's furious and relentless fighting and possibly a bit flustered by the fact that he didn't know what to expect. She was a one hundred and ten pound half-human earnestly fighting against three vampires and a shapeshifting wolf with me right next to her, still bombarding her with obviously ineffectual sensations of calm. It was unreal. If this is what the transition was like, I couldn't begin to fathom her after-life.

Edward looked at me with alarm etched all over his worried face.

"Maybe injecting her with the venom was too much or we didn't do it fast enough?"

"That seems likely," Carlisle piped in. "Her body has to be on fire, son. Imagine adding that to what she must have already been feeling. And waking up to the scent of blood," he added hesitantly, shame radiating through him.

"It wasn't your fault, Carlisle," I tried to soothe him and I gave him a little of the tranquility that wasn't working the slightest degree on Bella. At least Carlisle is still susceptible, I see with relief as he visibly loosens up his tight and anxious shoulders.

But as soon as I take my focus off of Bella, I realize just how much my influence was affecting her. She only gets more uncontrollable, more volatile-something I thought was impossible. Her body is still attempting to thrash relentlessly in every direction even though she's being pinned down. *She shouldn't be able to move at all, but somehow I can see even Emmett's hands jerking up and down with the force of her flailing. They're managing to keep her down, but the fact that it's taking the smallest amount of effort is alarming. Her screams are incessant, pitched from her throat at deafening octaves that pierce our sensitive eardrums through with explosive pain. At first they were just screams, but I can see that she's started trying to form words; I just can't understand them.

I dole out everything I have for Bella and the difference in her reaction is shocking. She doesn't stop - nowhere near it - but it slows once again to the same electric pace she was at before when I was hitting with her with all the calm I could muster; the reaction that I thought was too wild for me to possibly be having any affect on. It was clear now that my effect was significant - she was just in that much pain that it didn't seem like it was making a difference until you saw the accelerated, exorcist-like episode she entered into once I took my influence off of her.

Everyone was at a loss for what to do for Bella so we just kept on doing what we already were until someone had a better idea.

Rosalie was in the bathroom, presumably continuing to patch Sookie up. Alice was in and out of her visions. It seemed as if they kept changing because she kept phasing in and out of a trance.

Edward was beside himself with every negative emotion under the sun, but knowing him, his mind was still flickering a thousand miles a minute trying to come up with some other plan of action, just as Carlisle seemed to be trying to do. He spoke to Bella a little, trying to add to my calming effects with his voice. The improvement was infinitesimal.

Jacob and Emmett continued to hold Bella down while uttering soothing words to her as well whenever Edward paused. Elena and Esme were both tending to Bill who was unmoving and wouldn't drink for them and they both kept throwing worried glances in Bella's direction. Stefan and Damon seemed to be having some kind of silent eye-wrestling match with the way they were staring at one another when, finally Damon came over to lend more than just a snide comment.

He pushed Stefan aside and knelt down beside Bella on the bed. He started to reach for her hand, but Emmett gave him a threatening look that said 'don't even try it', which made Damon roll his eyes, but he hesitated none-the-less.

"Fine. Let her be in scorching pain for days, for all I care. I was just trying to help, but hey," he called out casually, "if you don't want my help, I'll just leave. Not like the guy who _made_ her could possibly make any difference to her."

He was goading us and we all knew it, but desperation drove Emmett to let go of her anyway, willing to try anything to make his little sister feel just the tiniest bit better. Damon gave Emmett a curt nod, his way of saying, 'thanks', I presumed.

Still kneeling beside Bella's head, Damon clutched her hand with one of his and then began softly stroking her forehead and hair. He did that for a few moments before he started whispering calmly and sweetly near her ear. He repeated her name a few times and lamented that we were there for her. At first we didn't see much of an affect other than both seeing and feeling Edward's undeniable jealous fury.

"Shhh, Bella," he consoled her. "Follow the sound of my voice," he told her quietly.

"Can you hear me?" he asked. Bella shook her head frantically and cried out in a growl the only word I'd actually understood her say.

"Yes."

"Good girl, Bella. You're going to be alright. Do you know who I am?"

He gave her a second to respond, still stroking her skin lightly with his fingertips. She was beginning to quiet down, her words still rough and scratchy, but becoming more and more coherent as time passed.

"Damon," she managed to get out.

Edward was feeling both relief for her response and an acute sorrow for not being the one to have induced it when Bella breathed out very clearly and unmistakably-albeit slowly-"you…are…such…asshole."

That certainly heightened Edward's feeling of relief ten fold and it even made Damon chuckle along with the rest of us.

"I know, sweetie. I know," he sighed. Bella finally opened her chocolate brown eyes to little more than a squint and peered next to her at the black-clad form of Damon Salvatore. "No. Really. Douche," Bella said in between deep, staggering breaths while pointing directly at him with the hand that Edward was still holding.

He gave her a wide grin and, surprisingly, she gave him a feeble half-smile in return.

"I tried to tell you, sweetheart, but you women just don't listen," Damon joked with her.

What fell from her lips then seemed to shock most everyone. "Thank you," she told him and I could feel, beneath the torture, a touch of genuine gratitude coming from her.

Damon didn't look pleased with himself, thanks or no thanks, so once the surprise wore off, he just stared at her blankly. "But," she went on, swallowing hugely before she spoke again. "It hurts. It hurts so bad," she cried. The look in Edward's eyes at these words was as if he'd just died a thousand times and I wasn't all that amazed to see a similar look pass over Damon's face.

"Bella, love?" Edward spoke to her finally.

The sound of his voice seemed to startle her for some reason and she whipped her head in his direction as if she didn't know he was there.

"Where does it hurt? How do you feel?" Edward questioned, stupidly.

Bella began to scream again, but after a few minutes she calmed back down and turned to Damon to answer Edward's question.

"Burns. All. Over," she choked out in response. "My throat," she started to say, but her face screwed up into a painful expression and she wasn't able to finish her sentence.

We all gathered what she was trying to convey, though. Her whole body was burning from Edward's venom, but her throat was the worst and it was very likely dry from all the screaming and the added scorching thirst from waking up right next to fresh blood had to be nothing less than unendurable. Add to that the fact that she should have been unconscious for this part of the transformation and I couldn't imagine what she must be feeling. For me, that's saying something. It still hurts no matter what, but being wide-awake through the entire experience, hyper aware of every prickle of pain, every lick of flames through your veins? I couldn't fathom it. I didn't know how Bella wasn't insane right now, but I was glad for how she was holding it together.

Everyone else felt a similar sense of astounded relief, but Edward's was saturated with heartbreak because Bella seemed to only be responding to Damon. Jacob tried encouraging her to hang on telling her it would be over soon, but at those words he quickly shut his mouth, probably because he didn't know how long she'd be in this pain anymore than the rest of us did.

Noticing that Bella was calmer when he spoke to her, Damon once again took control of the situation.

"Bella, sweetie," he whispered, "I need you to tell me what woke you up. Were you aware of anything at all?"

Keeping her focused on the questions seemed to be the best way of distracting her momentarily from the pain and I was thankful to Damon for recognizing that. He was a grade-A asshole, but he was observant and he really was doing everything he could do in the moment for Bella.

"A smell. Like…copper."

She was still writhing a little, but not because she was trying to escape. She just couldn't help it with the pain she was in. Her muscles were spasming from trying to fight the pain away and I imagined she had fire boiling through nerve-endings she didn't know she had. The seizure-like reaction was to be expected, but the way she managed to remain coherent throughout it all was extraordinary.

"I tasted it in my mouth," she went on, pausing and holding up a single finger as she winced in pain so that we'd know she wasn't finished.

"It burned." She pointed to her throat.

"Wanted water," she wheezed.

"I know you did, Bells. Then what?" Damon's eyes never left Bella's face as he rubbed his thumb back and forth across the top of her hand.

"Fire. In my heart. It hurts, Damon," she cried again for the second time, the look in her eyes pleading with him to make it stop.

"It'll be over soon, okay? Remember why we did this?" Bella seemed incapacitated for a moment, but slowly her eyes traveled around the room until they came to rest on Edward, who was sitting on the opposite side of Damon holding her other hand.

He swelled with hope and an automatic smile graced his face. Bella didn't smile back. She didn't nod or say another word as the tension in the room compounded tremendously. She just turned her head back to Damon in a refusal to acknowledge Edward.

"Don't do that. You asked for this, for him, Bells, and I never would have done it if you hadn't…" Damon paused, trying to gather his thoughts before he went on, "appealed to my more sensitive nature."

_Yeah. Whatever that means_, I thought. Still no sign of agreement from Bella.

"He loves you," Damon assured her.

"He did it," was all she said. Finally something and no one understands what she means. Damon looked at her quizzically, but didn't speak.

"My heart. The burn. He did it," she gasped in short bursts.

Apparently, she was more cognizant than anyone was aware of if she knew Edward was the one who pierced her heart with the needle. Surely, she had to know he wasn't trying to cause her this much torment? He tried to tell her, but she started to speak again and we all had to be quiet to hear her small voice, distorted as it was with pain.

"Doesn't…he doesn't….want me?"

Another pause. "He…." she started, but changed tacts in the next breath. "Am I….dying?"

Amidst all the physical pain and even through all the peace I was throwing her way, I felt a distinct and unmistakable throb of rejection. She thought Edward was trying to kill her, not save her.

"No." Damon shook his head at her while Edward stared on in horror, not sure if he should speak or let Damon handle this one.

"No, sweetheart, you're not dying. You're changing. Edward gave you his venom," he explained gently.

I could sense everyone's astonishment, save for Elena's, that Damon was being so caring with Bella, but I wasn't at all surprised. Tenderness wasn't something he was prone to showing too many people openly, but the situation with Bella brought it out of him. It wasn't long, though, before he diverted back to his usual sarcastic manner.

"Sparkles wasn't trying to kill you. As gay as he looks, he really does love you. He was trying to save you so you wouldn't have to be like me. You might even glitter in the sun now, too," he smiled what I guessed was supposed to be a charming grin.

It took Bella a bit to digest this information, but as soon as she did, she turned her head back in Edward's direction. It was clear that she was getting tired from all the physical exertion that just wouldn't slow down, but she did try to squeeze Edward's hand and gave him a small smile before letting out a sudden, blood curdling shriek. I was already giving all I could in the chill pill department so I was really hoping someone had some better ideas for what to do.

Stefan thought he might be able to help calm her some because even though Damon had been the one to end her human life, they had both given her blood, which meant they were both responsible for her to some degree. For them, giving blood is a sort of bonding experience and so Stefan guessed that she would feel marginally more comforted having them both there for her. There we all stayed, by her side trying to help comfort her through the pain as much as was possible.

Edward never left her side and constantly reminded her how much he loved her to which she would try to respond, but was mostly unable except for one time when she just barely managed to get out the words, "love. you," in a short staccato beat.

Those two little words did more for Edward's emotional state than I was ever able to do for him. I found it ironic that Bella was the one needing the comfort and support, yet she was still trying to be there for him in the midst of her own suffering. It did not go amiss that even when she thought he'd tried to kill her and didn't want to speak to him, she still didn't let go of his hand.

The hours were long and intense. During that time, Carlisle checked in on Sookie and was informed by Edward that if he went to find Eric Northman, Sookie would be patched up in no time and maybe he would even know what to do about Bill. Edward didn't relay this information earlier because Sookie had silently asked him not to, but he was unable to refrain any longer once he was aware that - even from the bathroom - the smell of Sookie's blood was driving Bella even more insane as the transformation progressed. Eric came only forty-five minutes before the sun started to rise, gave Sookie his blood and after she healed, they took Bill away to try and care for him and left the rest of us still attending to Bella.

I regretted not being able to go and help as I respected Bill, but Bella was family. She had to come first. I also noticed that Eric stooped down to grab Hermione's wand before he left. Since she'd mentioned in passing that she was with him earlier in the evening, no one protested.

It was a surprise to us when we heard a knock at the door about fifteen minutes after Eric and Sookie departed. Usually, nothing crept up on us, but Alice's visions were getting distorted and hazy and she could only see properly when the vision wasn't regarding Bella, whose outcome was still uncertain, or when Jacob kept his distance because she was still unable to _see_ with him close by. The only reason she was able to see as much as she was before was because she stayed in one corner of the room while Jacob stayed in another, per Alice's request and a death threat from me.

Agitated, Alice answered the door with more force than necessary and didn't greet our guest with her usual perky attitude.

She left the niceties up to Esme and told everyone in a clipped tone, "Harry, this is everyone. Everyone, this is Harry." It would have made me laugh if I wasn't feeling so drained.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but Hermione woke me. Asked me to come over and give you this sleeping draught. Not exactly sure why so if someone could fill me in, that'd be great," he added sheepishly while nervously twiddling his wand between the fingers of his draught-free hand. Esme and Carlisle excused themselves to talk to Harry.

After a few moments, Carlisle called Edward outside and he reluctantly got up to join them, glancing back at Bella all the way to the door looking worried and agitated because Carlisle didn't actually have to call him away. She was still in much pain, sweating and spasming uncontrollably with no sign of an end in sight. I'm sure Edward was listening in to their thoughts all the way to the door so he could get back to her sooner. Seconds later, they all returned with a plan.

Harry agreed that the potion must have been for Bella. How Hermione knew of Bella's condition could only be attributed to a visit from Eric. He must have stopped by her cabin to return her wand and told her what was going on. It was brilliant of her to come up with the idea to put her to sleep… now to see if it works. I stayed planted in my position, but put my hand on Bella's shoulder, as physical contact seemed to increase the effectiveness of my abilities. Damon was still patiently stroking Bella's hands and occasionally, her hair, while Edward explained what they were about to do.

It took Stefan, Jacob, Rosalie, Alice and Carlisle to hold Bella's spasming body still while Edward straddled her and poured the potion down her dry, scorching throat as Esme, Elena and Harry looked on with concern. She coughed, spit and gagged at the taste of it, but managed to swallow most of it down.

Finally, after hours of fighting, hours of pain and endless intensive stress, Bella started to settle into a deep, peaceful sleep only minutes after the concoction first touched her lips.

A sleep we were confident she would wake up from.

What she would be like when she awoke, again was uncertain, but we were no longer plagued by the worry that she wouldn't make it or the constant distress of knowing she was in unbearable pain. The situation was still less than ideal, but finally things were looking a little less bleak.

As Bella took her first deep breath, all the inner turmoil I'd been having to deal with for the last few days came floating back to the surface. Finally. A break. I gave Alice an apologetic look and knew she'd understand when I bolted from the room to try and find some silence, some real peace instead of the kind I'd been forced to manufacture for longer than I thought myself capable.

As I exited the room, I heard Edward protesting against anyone following me.

"Is he okay, son?" Carlisle asked.

"He keeps thinking about soup," Edward answered, making it sound almost like a question.

He was too polite to go into detail with Esme and Elena present. Just before I sprinted out of hearing range, I heard Alice and Emmett laughing boisterously as they yelled simultaneously, "freak the fuck out soup!"

Even without any mind-reading abilities, they knew me far too well. The thought made a genuine smile creep up on my face as I jumped off the boat into the quiet sea below, where nothing would be able to reach me until I got ready to come back to the surface.

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**Whew! That was a long one. On to * explanations :)**

***The split-second limitation on Alice's vision. For those of you that don't know- Alice's visions are subjective because the future changes so much. Someone has to decide on something before she can see it. If they make the decision at a moment's notice, IF Alice even sees it, it's too late anyway. That's what happened when Edward attacked Damon - he didn't even know he was going to do it until he did it and so Alice didn't see til it was already happening.**

***Even Emmett's hands moving up and down with the force of Bella's thrashing- Emmett is the strongest of the Cullen vampires and if he can't keep her still by himself, can you imagine how strong all that pain is making her? Her body is just going out of control with bloodlust and the change itself while Bella is overwhelmed and frightened because she doesn't know a whole lot more about what's going on than anyone else does. It's a pretty hard thing to fight off.**

**Enough of that - Please press review. They make me update faster. :) And as always, thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 8  Ballsy Bella

**Merry Christmas everyone! **

**I hadn't intended on getting this posted today, but because my beta (CreativelySpecial) is amazing and wonderful - here you are! :) I apologize for the long wait and hope you enjoy! **

**No copyright infringement intended. These characters do not belong to me, but oh how I wish they did.**

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**Phantom Cruise**

**Chapter 8 - Ballsy Bella**

**~Ron Weasley~**

"So you're tellin' me…that nothin' happened with Eric because he's in love with Sookie and that you melted Sookie's real boyfriend, Bill, when you threw a batch of sunshine at Damon, who was trying to kill Edward, who was trying to kill Damon, to help Bella? Is that about right?" I asked Hermione in one quick breath.

"Essentially, yes. Although, I don't think Edward's original intention was to kill Damon. It was just an experiment to see if he would die without his ring after having been injected with Edward's venom," she stated matter-of-factly. Then she went on to acquiesce, "However, I can't deny that Edward wouldn't have been at all bothered by Damon's departure from the universe."

"So when I woke up that morning and you were talking to Eric…that was nothing?" I asked hesitantly.

Hermione smiled reassuringly. "Absolutely nothing. I dropped my wand and ran from the Cullens' room in a fright as a result of what I'd accidentally done to Bill. It was horrendous and stupid; I didn't think it all the way through," she berated herself. "Eric was only returning my wand. He's the one who gave me the idea for the sleeping draught, actually."

Harry entered from the bathroom drying his hands on a towel. "Thank Merlin it worked. Really brilliant, Hermione."

Normally, Hermione would have been beaming at such a compliment, but considering she was still rattled about what she'd done to Bill, she gave Harry only a half-smile. She must have felt she got it only half right. I could sympathize completely with that feeling, but Hermione wasn't used to being anything except perfect; it must have been torturous for her.

"I just hope I can pull brilliant off again with this spell Elena's friend sent to me. I've never done magic like this before…"

I put my arm around Hermione and drew her close to me. It was automatic that I should want to comfort her.

"You'll do fine. You're amazing, Hermione. There's no way you can't do this. You can do magic some witches twice your age can't do. Really, don't worry."

I rubbed my hand up and down her arm as I talked and gradually felt the tension release as she leaned in closer to me. By the time I was done, her head was on my shoulder and she gave me a small smile that said, 'thanks for trying.' It was better than nothing and frankly, I was so distracted by her head on my shoulder and the smell of her magnificent hair that I almost hoped she'd feel this dejected all the time so I could keep on comforting her. Terribly selfish, isn't it?

"You've practiced it a thousand times. With as much as the girl has already been through, I don't think this is going to bring her demise or anything. If you don't get it right this time, you just keep practicing. You'll get it. You always do," Harry offered while he finished dressing.

He knew how worried Hermione had been the last week. The spell was causing her so much stress that her hair was actually falling out. I swear; I'd found enough hair around our room to weave a blanket. It wasn't even entirely necessary that she do it at all, but she wanted to in order to try to make amends for her mistake with Bill. I wasn't exactly sure how making a "ring of not burning" for Bella was making anything right where Bill was concerned, but the female logic is something I will always question and never fully understand.

Edward's venom had worn off so that Damon was no longer able to walk in the sunlight without his ring after about two days. It was a riot to watch when the effects started to wear off. I happened to be outside on the deck the morning that Damon walked out of his cabin sans ring. He was stretching his limbs out, probably getting ready to collect a morning drink when smoke starting rising from his skin and I heard a sound very akin to bacon sizzling.

Damon looked confused with wide eyes for only a moment before he crouched down, shielding his head and muttering a string of muffled profanities I could scarcely make out. His skin was steadily burning as he scuttled like a crab under the overhang by his door that put him just out of the suns rays. It was hilarious to watch. It really made my morning, actually.

Nothing severe happened to him. He was able to heal quickly and Hermione had given him his ring back a few days prior. He slipped it back on, downed a bottle of blood to heal and all was right in the universe again except no one had any idea what that meant for Bella.

Once she came out of the draught that Hermione made for her, it seemed she was a full vampire. No feeding necessary. She was devilishly hungry, though. Really…the girl was like a bloody wild animal- completely barmy. They tried giving her animal blood in a glass, but she wasn't having a bit of it. When we docked, they took her out hunting in the forest for some real wild animals. It helped a bit, but she was still famished when they returned, as she couldn't finish. They found she was exceedingly sensitive to sunlight.

It doesn't burn her, but it makes her uncomfortable. She can't see as well, her head hurts and she can't function to her fullest ability. Makes her bloody cranky as well. She doesn't sparkle like the rest of the Cullens either; rather, she glows. She has this radiant glow that just makes her fantastic to look at, although I'd never tell Hermione that. I still remember the birds she clawed my face with when I was with Lavandar. Not looking forward to having a go with that again.

Damon suggested they give her human blood (from a glass, of course) and reluctantly, everyone agreed once they'd tried every other avenue. It worked and she was fine after that, although she gets a bit ticky around Elena. So far, she hasn't bitten her. She seems to have an astonishing amount of control for a leech.

The only other order of business is to get her a ring like Damon's so she doesn't suffer from the vampire version of PMS - Sun Sensitivity Syndrome? (I rather like The Sun Makes Me An Insufferable Bitch Disease myself.) Since Hermione is the only witch we know skilled enough to accomplish such a task, she's the one that carries the burden.

Having Harry's support and mine seemed to be going a long way to make her feel better. At least at that moment.

Hermione wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a brief hug along with a quick kiss on the cheek, and then she got up and gave Harry the same. She picked up a dainty white gold ring off her bedside table and pulled her wand off the bed, sticking it in the back pocket of her jeans.

"We'd better get going," she announced with a sigh.

"Alright, then. Let's get on with it," Harry agreed, opening the door.

We met the Cullens in the basement area of the ship where they store all the supplies. Bella was, of course, waiting there with the rest of them. Bella had her own entourage' aside from her family: Jacob the werewolf; both Salvatore brothers; Elena and Sookie. The only ones missing were Bill, Eric and Pam, as none of them could come out during the day. I knew Hermione was thinking of Bill when she began staring at the floor, her guilty conscience plaguing her once again. I almost thanked Merlin out loud as I put my arm around Hermione's waist before I realized how incredibly wrong that would be.

"Alright, everyone, I'd like to do this quickly," she announced, pulling herself together and getting focused to perform an entirely different kind of magic sans wand.

"You have the ring?" Damon asked.

"Yes. It's one I rarely wore. I hope you like it, Bella, because if this works, you're going to be stuck with it for quite a while," she said as she handed the ring over to Bella.

Bella was a breathtaking sight. She still had the same long, mahogany hair, but the highlights in it were intensified further as was the brightness of her chocolate brown eyes, the paleness of her porcelain skin with its rosy red cheeks. Her smile was blinding and she seemed to draw everyone to her the same way a *Veela might. Only she wasn't a dangerous, sneaky wench like most Veela were.

Bella took the ring in her palm and sat it gently down upon a plastic box stamped with big white, block-shaped letters that read, "CATS PEE ON A GOOSEBERRY BUSH." I tried not to laugh. I was unsuccessful, for which Hermione not-so-covertly smacked me in the back.

"I want to thank you all for giving me time to practice this spell and Elena for getting it to me. But you must understand that I can make no promises. I'm a witch that uses a wand and my Latin is, frankly, lacking, so just…don't expect a miracle here, or anything. I'm working with elements I know very little about," Hermione stated nervously.

"We just appreciate you trying, dear," Esme cooed while Carlisle bobbed his head in agreement.

"Do I need to do anything?" Bella asked in her new beautiful bell-toned voice.

"The directions Bonnie sent to me don't require you to do anything. I, however, am of a different opinion. Do you pray, Bella?" Hermione asked her seriously.

Bella looked taken aback by her question, but Hermione didn't give her time to answer it before she gulped and muttered seriously, "if so, start now."

Hermione very carefully unfolded the piece of paper with the words to the incantation on it, sat it gently by the ring where she'd have a clear view of it, held her hands shakily above the ring itself and began slowly but steadily repeating the words over and over again.

Everyone looked on in anticipation as she attempted to do something she thought to be far out of her range of abilities. I watched in fascination as she repeated the words stronger and more confident with each passing rotation. The ring began to rise into the air and hover in front of us all. Hermione looked completely *gobsmacked, but continued without hesitation. She seemed to become more sure of herself as the moments passed.

A moment later, the ring fell, with a loud smack, back down to the top of the container and Hermione inhaled what had to be the largest breath of relief I'd heard a person make since Harry and I escaped that forest full of spiders.

"I think it worked!" she muttered, astonished. She picked it up and placed it on the index finger of Bella's right hand.

Bella took a large breath and exhaled, "there's only one way to find out."

**~Bella~**

_Here comes the moment of truth. Or of bitchiness, whichever._

I took a deep, unnecessary breath as I braced myself to walk outside the heavy metal doors and climb the stairs that would put me directly beneath the sun's offensively brightening rays. I had to remind myself over and over again that I'd been through worse in the last nine days.

First, I'd watched with worried anticipation as my soon-to-be husband, werewolf best friend and Vampire Bill all tumbled together in a blur of indistinguishable motion while a viking vampire didn't even pretend to look over my shoulder and watch me as Edward had asked of him. I came to the realization at that moment that I was a doormat. A submissive, idiot doormat.

I wanted to feel powerful and sexy, which is part of the reason I pseudo-raped my vampire boyfriend while he was under the influence of a magical roofie once Harry and the others got us safely back to our room. That and he just looked so amazingly fuck-hot laying there the way he was…

_Seriously, Bella! Get a grip on yourself!_

I didn't know that he could actually see and feel everything. I thought the magic rendered him entirely useless, body and mind. Apparently, it was only his body that was frozen which was proven to me before I could even fully comprehend it once Harry lifted the spell.

In a motion more swift than any I'd ever seen I was pinned underneath Edward with his lips all over me. I thought surely he would have come out of his paralyzed state not knowing what the hell was going on and pressed the pause button the way he always does. Superhuman speed and discipline - Edward is not a very good pretend seventeen year old boy! If the universe was normal Edward should have had a raging hormonal cum-fest going on in his trousers at all times!

But since nothing in my universe is as it should be, he's a vampire more than five times my age who has an unprecedented amount of self-control that never falters no matter what I do to break him down.

Except for that night.

I thought it would be so much harder, but I almost got exactly what I wanted the first night aboard the ship. It was amazing, the way he was kissing me, and I was sure it would escalate to precisely where I wanted it to go if I could just keep his mind away from Saint Edward street and traveling a little faster along Please For The Love of God Fuck Me Street.

Alas, the universe really does hate me. Somehow I started bleeding. And Edward started sucking.

I can just hear the man love innuendoes Damon could manufacture from that statement. Let's keep going, shall we?

He almost drained me completely of blood, but the entire time I couldn't fight to get him off me. There was kissing and then he would suck on my lip; kiss, suck, nibble. Kiss, suck, nibble…it was blissful. I didn't want him to stop. If that was what my death would be like, then so be it. I damn well tried to enjoy every moment of it.

But then, at the last minute something stopped him. He jerked his head up and before I knew it I heard crashing and the faint echo of voices. They were steadily growing weaker, Edward's face slowly becoming fuzzier as the darkness took over. The blackness settled over me like a velvet cape.

I remember nothing after that until I woke a day or two later. Edward was by my bedside apologizing immediately for his reprehensible behavior, filling my ears with words of love and atonement. I tried my best to reassure him, but it did me little good as I was so pissed at Edward that I could barely look at him. Most of all, I was disgusted with myself for not being good enough for him. He obviously didn't want me forever if he didn't change me after almost sucking the life from me. Surely he realized that it would benefit us both if I wasn't his own personal walking Bella-Buffet? Why wasn't I good enough to be like him?

I felt useless, worthless. If Edward didn't want me, there was no reason to be alive. He should have just let me die happy and blissfully unaware instead of letting Stefan and Damon resuscitate me. It seemed he only wanted to prolong my torture. I sat for a day - a day and a half, maybe - being watched over day and night until the Salvatore's blood exited my system and all the while I was filled to the brim with resentment and desperation.

I wasn't so much of an idiot that I didn't understand why they were watching me so closely. I deduced that if I died with their blood in my system, I'd become one of them. Edward neither denied nor confirmed it, which was confirmation enough for me. The wheels started turning and eventually I got my one opportunity to put my very obscure plan into action.

Edward left my side once to go talk to Alice. It seemed there was something going on that I was unaware of.

_Oh, what a surprise! Bella, out of the loop? Never!_

I had absolutely had it at that point. Nobody cared a bit for what I wanted - no one listened to a word I said. Except for Damon. He seemed to really understand my dilemma.

I talked to him while Edward was out and he reassured me that there was no reason for me to be in so much pain. He tried to tell me that Edward just wanted what was best for me and I countered him, wondering how anyone else could possibly know more about what's best for me than I do.

It was a long volley of a conversation at the end of which I managed to convince Damon that he'd be doing me the greatest kindness by turning me into a vampire. He had the strength to do what Edward didn't and if Edward didn't have anything to do with the transformation, he could never feel guilty about it. And once he saw how happy I was afterwards, he'd never question that it was the right thing. Plus, if he didn't help me, I was just going to find some crude, painful way to off myself; at least Damon had the ability to do it quickly and humanely.

It wasn't an ideal scenario considering I wouldn't be exactly like the Cullens, but it was better than nothing and as I said, I was desperate. If Edward didn't want me after I'd finally joined his world, I'd go off and live alone somewhere or else stalk Damon just for the fun of it.

Somehow, something I said struck a chord with him. I saw how his icy blue eyes glazed over, his expression saddened and he sighed in that way that clearly says, 'I give up.' He hung his head down for a moment, letting his thick black hair shield his anguished eyes from mine. After a long moment he looked back up at me with an intense gaze as if he was searching for something significant.

Then, he looked into my eyes with such compassion as if he was about to cry, put his hands behind my head to gently stroke my hair and said, "I sincerely hope you get everything you want, Bella." He kissed me lightly on the forehead - a very sweet gesture - and snapped my neck. That was it.

After hours and hours of seemingly endless, torturous, scorching pain - I made it. I didn't even have to kill a human as Edward said they were concerned I might. He said it had been days that I'd lain unconscious until I smelled Sookie's blood. I wondered why I would be smelling Sookie's blood; what the hell happened while I was out? After a few hours of listening to my family and holding Edward's and Damon's hands, I had the whole story sorted out.

I wanted to kick Edward for what he did to Damon, but I didn't have the strength until after they took me hunting and even then, I wasn't fit to do much damage. The animal blood was repulsive and the sunlight made me the undead bitch of the century as well as making me weaker than I already was after the prolonged exposure. Damon brought me the real stuff a little while after that. It was like magic the way it made me feel.

It was warm, wet and comforting. I'd never had anything better in my entire existence. I felt crazy strong and immediately wanted to wrestle with Emmett. He obliged and the second I beat him I deemed that being a vampire was the most fantastic thing in the world. I have officially reached badass status.

Since then, Edward has still been acting a little sketchy, but everyone's been working together to show me the ropes. Elena pitched in and contacted her friend Bonnie to get a spell for a sun ring like Damon and Stefan's so that I wouldn't be weakened by the sun. I suspect it was mainly so I wouldn't be making everyone else's lives miserable for the remaining three weeks of our vacation.

I tried really hard not to be bothersome to anyone, but all these new senses, emotions and powers…it was all so overwhelming. Edward tried to console me by being there for my every whim and assuring me that I was not a problem, that I was handling everything unbelievably well and everyone understood what I was experiencing.

The truth was that I didn't think anyone could fully understand because they were all vampires from different parts of the world; different mythologies even. I was a vampire hybrid - a mix of two types of vampires. How could any of them understand what that was like?

Everyone catered to me and I couldn't stand it any longer. I wanted to do something to help myself. That's why I asked Hermione if there was anything I could do to help her with the spell even though I knew I would be useless to her. She was going out of her way to perform a spell that was ridiculously difficult and she couldn't even use her wand to carry it out because the spell came from a Salem witch - not a Hogwarts witch. I couldn't believe the jumble of insanity my life had become. And I was supposed to be on vacation, of all things!

I was immensely relieved and in awe when the spell seemed to have worked. Hermione was absolutely brilliant! Damon warned me not to get my hopes up and assured me that if Hermione couldn't pull the spell off, he'd have me a ring made once he got back to Mystic Falls, but the thought of having to wait a month longer to receive it, to enjoy walking in the sun again - it was unbearable. I did exactly what Hermione told me to do: I prayed like hell that she was successful.

Here I stood at the door that would lead me upward towards the sunlight that would both warm me and make me crazy with the desire to kill people, yet too weak to actually do it. How fitting, yes? After that deep, steady breath to brace myself, I opened the door and slowly climbed the stairs with a procession of family and new friends behind me.

It felt like forever walking at human pace up the stairs when I could have been there in less than a second. Even though I knew the sun wouldn't kill me, the way it made me feel was enough to make me hesitate. I wasn't in a hurry to feel any more discomfort, so I was prolonging my own anticipation. It didn't make much sense, but none of this did so why bother making sense at this point?

Once I came to the place in the stairs where the shadows of the overhangs above began to disperse allowing the golden sunlight to flood across the floor, I stopped. I could feel the apprehension palpably accumulate around me. Hermione was absolutely buzzing with it. If this worked, she'd be the most phenomenal witch any of us had ever encountered and if it didn't she'd feel like a failure. I hated that anything having to do with me could ever have the potential to make her feel that way. I really appreciated her efforts to help me, as well as everyone else's.

"Bella, you're gonna have to move it, honey. It's not like you're gonna die - quit stalling and move your ass up the damn stairs!" Sookie prodded impatiently. Edward gave her a stern look, Damon laughed and Jacob heartily agreed that I was being stupid.

Sookie was right. I was wasting precious time, especially hers. I'm sure she was eager to get back to Bill. He had sustained serious burn damage and still had not recovered completely. Why he had not healed was a bit of a mystery, but if I had to take a guess I would have said it was because of the magic.

I took the last few steps into the sun automatically shielding my eyes from the throbbing I was expecting to feel from the intensity of the sun. I was half shocked when I didn't feel it. I didn't feel the nausea setting in, the anger or aggravation. I just felt the warmth of a summer day touch down on my cold skin. It was an enchanting feeling. It was like I could feel each individual ray tickling the surface of my skin, dancing across my body in a seductive sort of way; it was if the sun was doing a dance that only I could feel.

I let out a laugh that sounded oddly like the tinkling of bells. Lavish and elegant; not a sound I'd ever made before becoming a vampire. I heard a collective exhale behind me and turned to stare at the wondrously happy faces of those around me. Hermione did it! The ring she'd just miraculously spelled for me was the equivalent of vampire Midol! Amazing!

I tackled her in a magnanimous bear hug from which I had to quickly release her before I accidentally crushed her bones and then I speedily turned to Elena. She was the one who had gotten the spell to Hermione so I owed her just as much appreciation. I was far more mindful of my new strength while hugging Elena than I was with Hermione.

Next I turned to Damon and Stefan giving them the biggest hug someone as small as I could wrap two full-grown men in at once. They were the ones that made it possible for me to be what I am. I would be forever grateful to Damon and comforted by both of them. Something about having so much of their blood flowing through me made me want them near me almost constantly.

I hugged every member of my family as they all congratulated me and told Hermione what a tremendous job she'd done. When I came to Jacob he actually sniffed me. It was the first time I'd been in close proximity to him since the change had been deemed official. I suspect he was deciding whether or not he still wanted me for a best friend when I was supposed to be an enemy.

"Oddly enough, you don't reek," he said, sounding surprised. I pulled back from the hug and gave him a quizzical look.

"I mean, don't get me wrong - you still have a little of that Edward stench, but it's not overpowering or anything. You still smell kinda human…weird." He laughed and I punched him in the arm, glad to know he'd decided I was still a worthy friend.

"Owe," he yelped, rubbing his arm as I was pulling my fist back from the punch.

"Really, Jake, I'm glad you decided that you still want to talk to me, but what are you even doing here?" I asked Jake something I'd been wondering since he stupidly assaulted Bill our first night aboard.

Jake hung his head and confessed that Sam had sent him. "To make sure that this -" he gestured up and down at me "- didn't happen to you. Which means I'm going to get my ass handed to me once I get off this boat. I just couldn't kill you, Bella. And I couldn't let you die either. I figured I'd rather have you this way than not at all so I didn't interfere with the transformation. I thought about it," he added sternly. "But I couldn't do it. I love you too much, Bells," he whispered.

I knew he meant it in a far friendlier way than I liked and it cut my soul open to know that he would still be in pain because of my decisions, but there was no other choice for me.

"I love you, too, Jake. You know that."

"And you know how much I wish it was enough."

Jake hurried away shaking while I tried not to run after him. Instead I gripped the first person my arms could reach to bring myself back to reality. It was Emmett, thank God. He would surely take my mind off my wolfly troubles. He scooped me up, spun me around and planted a sloppy, wet kiss on my cheek before abruptly dropping me to lip-wrestle Rose, who was following behind him.

When I came to Ron and Harry, Ron seemed to be in a daze. I gave him an awkward, one-armed pat on the back while I mumbled a quick 'thank you for your support' and then turned to Harry who obviously had more sense. I told him he had my sincere gratitude for his part in helping me and for stalling that fight with Edward, Jake and Bill. As I was turning away I heard Ron mumbling stupidly, "pretty," as if he was a dazed, slobbering two year old watching his first fireworks display. He was such an endearing character...

I saved Edward for last. I wanted his arms and lips to be the last thing I felt touching me so that when we finally separated I could still feel that tingle of electricity he always elicited in me dancing along my frame in an orgasmic rhythm with the heavenly sensation of the sun.

"You're exquisite," he told me. "You actually glow in the sunlight," he said in awe.

I buried my head in his chest just enjoying being able to touch and be touched without either of us having to be in some form of pain to do so. He no longer had to experience the burning thirst, the desire to kill me or show any restraint for fear of hurting me. I didn't have to be careful of every whip of my hair or worry that he didn't want me. It was clear that he did. As I pressed myself closer into his hug, it became abundantly clear just how much he absolutely did _want_ me.

I heard a groan from somewhere in the distance before I felt a soft palm on my back. "I'm real happy for y'all, but I can't take all these lusty thoughts you vampires are throwin' around any more. Catch up with ya later to celebrate, maybe?"

"Sure," Edward said kindly, chuckling a bit. He was beaming - just as I was - at all the new possibilities our lives held. Such a tumultuous road we'd traveled thus far and finally, it was starting to feel like things were going to work out.

I caught a peek at Alice who just nodded her head at me while she continued to hug Jasper, who had a dazzling smile on his face as well. He deserved all the happiness he could possibly soak up after having to endure so many others' sufferings along with his own.

"Everyone is thinking about celebrating. Are you okay with that?" Edward asked me quietly.

I made no response other than to pull him along behind me toward the uppermost part of the deck where there were people bathing in the sun, dancing, swimming and having drinks. Damon and Stefan followed behind with Elena in between the two of them while Damon yelled something about a party. He made it perfectly clear that they were celebrating whether I was or not.

Emmett and Jasper were of the first to follow them and along came everyone else.

It was one of the best days of my life and I was eager to see what the rest of them would bring.

That is, until Emmett hopped up onto a center table and began doing a very public strip tease for Rose. I will forever have the image of my big bear of a brother doing the cabbage patch wearing nothing but a navy blue speedo seared onto the surface of my brain like a cattle brand.

It was horrifying and hilarious all at once…kind of like those youtube videos of grotesquely obese humans flopping their fat rolls up and down while singing Britney songs - you want to look away, but you just can't. The only difference was that Emmett was exceptionally more attractive. Thank the good Lord Edward couldn't read my mind and Sookie wasn't there.

I pulled a few crumpled dollar bills out of the pockets of my jeans and very carefully attempted to stick them in the side band, but because I'm not quite yet attuned to my own strength I ended up ripping the thin fabric without even trying, causing a whole lot of Emmett to come floundering out for the world to see.

I took one look at Rose and thought she was going to murder me at my own party. The whole deck went silent while Rose and I stared each other down with me looking more like a deer caught in headlights than a dangerous vampire. I tried to mutter how sorry I was but embarrassment seemed to have rendered me speechless. How could I still be such an insufferable klutz even as a vampire? Epic fail on my part.

That's when Rose shocked the hell out of me by holding her hand up in the air like she wanted me to give her a high five. It was the first friendly gesture she'd ever shown me. I was thoroughly confused.

I shakily gave her a weak pat with one hand as she turned back to Emmett, smiled her dazzling white smile and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Wow baby, look at those balls of glory."

After offering my profuse and sincere apologies to both of them, I hung my head in shame and trudged back over to Edward to apologize to him. Of course he said it wasn't my fault and expressed his opinion that Emmett should not have been wearing something so scanty in front of a crowd of ladies, not to mention Esme! He claimed it was Emmett's own fault for being ridiculously crude never taking into account the fact that I was trying to tip him. It was a joke, but still, how much more tasteless could I have been?

I ran off to find a bathroom so that I could hide from everyone, but Alice and Jasper intercepted me. I couldn't help but laugh when I was with them so I stuck by their side for the rest of the evening and even sat with them at dinner that night. Having Jasper's influence to calm the raging embarrassment was more welcome than I could ever express to him.

I just hoped I could look Emmett in the face again someday without thinking the words 'balls of glory'. It didn't look promising.

I sighed. How can it be that both my life and my afterlife would turn out to be one long, discombobulate string of unfortunate accidents?

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**Unbearably long A/N...sorry, I know I suck.**

***Veela: Mentioned for the first time in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. They're beautiful, mesmorizing creatures with silvery hair. They dance and get you all hynotized like a Siren would and they're really sneaky and awful. They're deceitful I guess you could say.**

***Gobsmacked: English term meaning "to be amazed."**

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**Also, since I'm being completely shameless, I won't stop now. Feel free to pimp this story out - I'll love you for it! :P You can follow me on Twitter if you like. Just look for Spiffy_Bethy. **

**I updated my original story, Piece of Mind, recently. The link to it is on my profile, but it is also posted on my blog where this story is posted as well. You can also find both stories on TwiWrite, an amazing Twifiction site for 18+ adults. It's still a baby, but it's an awesome site so if you haven't yet, go check it out!**

**I do not know when Chapter 9 will be posted because I have one of those pesky things called a life that has been quite demanding of my time lately. What a bitch, right? I have to update Piece of Mind again before I can get on this one so it may take some time. I know it's a pain to have to wait for updates, but you guys are amazing because you do it and you keep coming back to read the next one. I love you for it! I'll shut up now.**

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	10. Chapter 9  Vampire Crack

**Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! See...I am working on this story! Even though it was Christmas 2010 when I last posted...oops. :/**

**We've just had so much going on (deployments, a horrible wreck with lots of injuries, recovery time, a move, lack of internet service...), but enough with my excuses...enjoy! Please comment - it will keep me motivated to keep going with this! Lots of Love!**

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**PC- Ch9**

**Vampire Crack**

**~Pam~**

I've been pacing around this boring-ass boat for nearly two weeks trying to find something to entertain myself and all this time the pansyvamps were trying to shake and bake with the real ones to make their own, less gay, petri-dish sparklepire recipe. How in the hell did I miss that?

Could have been when I was sucking the blood out of that squeaky-voiced waiter…

I had to chuckle. I didn't realize until I got a taste that he was a demi God. I was unaware up until that point that they actually existed. Good thing, too. Had I known earlier, I would have hunted them all down and brought them to dinner. He was delicious.

After that, the security ghouls on the ship chased me around for killing one of their servants, but they should have known it was going to happen. You don't host a cruise like this without having some badass insurance. There's a chunk missing from the side of the boat to attest to that; I think one of those minotaurs might be responsible.

Funny thing is that all I had to do to get the ghouls off my tail was let them watch while I made out with a witch. It was pretty fabulous even considering she was struggling to get away the whole time. _Actually, that's why it was fabulous_, I thought with a smile.

She was amazingly hot for a witch. Maybe it's ludicrous coming from a vampire, but I always pictured witches as ugly green people with warts on their noses and bad shoes. I was born way before the Wizard of Oz was created, but those kinds of horrifying images stay with a girl. I swear if I hear another witch cackle I will tear her throat out.

I smiled at my pink-clad reflection in the mirror. From then on, I decided, instead of hopping around the boat to find a little fun, I would stick with the sparklepires. They seemed to be able to get themselves into the most amusing predicaments and since I'm not a part of their little glittery entourage it was acceptable for me to just sit back and enjoy the show without incurring any trouble of my own.

If I hadn't noticed Eric hanging out with the hot witch I doubt I ever would have stumbled into such a captivating band of morons. I'll have to remember to thank him for that; I don't think it would take much glamour on my part to get Hermione to saunter into his room wearing nothing but high heels and plastic wrap…

My mind wandered off as I played that scenario in my head like a horrible, plotless porn flick. Before I could get too carried away, the thought of magnificent heels entered my mind and I realized I was wearing the most amazing pair of pink pumps that demanded to be eye-fucked as soon as possible.

"Going up to the party, Eric," I said in my normal speaking voice as I exited the cabin. I could hear the shower running in our shared bathroom, but I knew he would hear me.

As is standard for Eric, he kept quiet - probably enjoying his shower or else having nothing to say; both I assumed. He's not one for unnecessary chit-chat. It's about the only thing I find sexy in a man that you can rarely find in a woman. I let the door gently close behind me and made my way up to the celebration. Apparently, that Bella chick didn't die or kill anybody and this is considered a good thing. Go figure.

I reached the top of the stairs and stared out to the end of the deck. My eyes took in the most delicious sights, one of them being the witch whose mouth I assaulted a few hours prior. I winked at Hermione as I passed by and grinned to myself when I saw her give me a nervous, half-hearted wave and a grimacing smile before turning to her friends and mumbling about not wanting to talk about it. I almost visibly saw the lightbulb flashing on over my own forehead.

I walked over to the DJ, a handsome vampire with the most adorable dimples that reminded me of children and made me want to vomit - as if I could do such a thing. I made my request, he complied with a smile which I asked him never to do in my presence again. He looked entirely too happy and good natured for a vampire. I later learned he was called Emmett, as if his name was of any importance to me.

I waited until the chorus surged through the noise of the cacophonous crowd before I ambled over to Glenda the Good Witch to mess with her head.

"Care to dance?" I asked, interrupting her mid-sentence with the ginger-haired boy who so obviously adored her. Hermione's head turned around in my direction as she registered the lyrics playing over the loud speakers. _I kissed a girl and I liked it, the taste of her cherry chopstick…_

"I'd really rather not," she started, but I smiled at her allowing my fangs to descend and she quickly broke off her refusal and held out a shaky hand while ginger gave me the evil eye. Poor kid, he didn't realize I was infinitely better at it than he was.

I pulled Hermione to the center of the floor where we sort of swayed back and forth for a few awkward moments. I wasn't a dancer and she was nervous to the point of dysfunction.

"Why, sweetheart, you haven't said a word about my shoes," I teased.

Hermione glared at me and something odd happened. Typically, I enjoyed messing with humans, making them feel uncomfortable, but with her it was different for some reason. I couldn't seem to keep the charade up as well as usual.

"Okay Glenda, normally I don't do this, but I like you so I'll let you in on a little secret," I said nonchalantly.

Hermione's eyes got as big as saucers when I called her Glenda, the urge to correct me almost over-powering I assumed.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to show my appreciation for helping me out of that mess earlier. I could have just killed all the security, but then who would keep everyone else in line?" I deadpanned.

Hermione let out a breath halfway between a nervous laugh and a scoff as we stood unmoving in the midst of a throng of dancing creatures.

"Well I didn't really have a choice did I? You're quite strong and I didn't fancy getting bitten myself. I figured a kiss was a fair trade-off for keeping my life." She seemed terrified, but serious, which I took to mean she was brave. I liked this girl more than I realized.

I gave her a smirk while the music played on and leaned my head in excruciatingly close to her delicious smelling neck just to see what she would do. I both heard and saw her breaths get slower and slower before they stopped altogether. About an inch from her jugular I paused, allowing my fangs to slide out with a slow, metallic click. She didn't even flinch. Unusual.

Just then, Eric approached.

"Harassing Hermione again, I see," he commented.

I retracted my fangs and pulled back with a blase' sort of shrug. "She's fun. You should keep this one, Eric." And by keep her, I didn't mean in the human servant kind of way. I honestly thought she'd make one hell of a vampire.

"I'll take that under advisement," he said in a dismissive tone. I could read his moods well enough to know what he was telling me. I had been insufferably bored all this time and now that I was finally having some fun, Eric wanted to ruin it.

"Alright, I get it. Blondie has better fashion sense anyway," I said carelessly as I walked away toward the striking model-esque vampire with the melted golden eyes.

**~Eric~**

"I apologize for Pam, though you should take her adoration as a compliment. She's not usually so amiable."

Hermione rolled her eyes up, looking at me incredulously. "You call that amiable?" she scoffed.

"Yes," I assured her with a grin.

She attempted to keep her eat-shit stare plastered on her face, but after a moment, was unable to sustain it any longer. She smiled, heaving out something between a sigh and a laugh.

Shaking her head we departed from the dance floor with the last loop of the chorus fading out behind us.

"You know, I find it really odd that someone born hundreds of years ago would be listening to contemporary music," remarked Hermione.

"Did you think we all listened to elevator music? Or better yet, chamber music? While we torture innocent humans in our dungeons?"

She chuckled, "no, I guess not. It just seems a little displaced is all."

I noticed the red-haired boy eyeing me from a distance and found his apparent jealousy amusing. I grabbed Hermione's hand as we walked closer to her friends just to ruffle his feathers. _Humans_. They get so upset over the most trivial nonsense.

"You're right in any case. Pam heard this song when one of our acts at the club picked it to dance to."

"Fangtasia? Stripping?" Hermione asked, being careful not to scrunch up her face in disgust too much.

We were almost back to Match Head - Ron was he name? - and The Great Bespectacled Merlin so I chose that moment to screw with their petty human heads even more.

I pulled her close to me and leaned down so my face was considerably closer to her level, almost nose to nose.

"Exactly," I whispered with a hint of seduction in my voice and a panty evaporating smile.

I could feel the lust-impregnated air wrap around us both, cocooning us in our own private, sexually charged bubble.

A bubble that Hermione burst as quickly as I created it.

"Don't do that," she said in a small but forceful voice.

I eyed her quizzically, wondering what exactly I was doing aside from giving her the best "fuck me" face that ever existed and making her would-be boyfriend's face fill up with so much blood it looked like the atomic bomb of pimples, ready to explode at the smallest provocation. I had a sudden urge to count down to blast off.

Instead I pulled back to listen as she explained what she meant, intrigued by her ability to resist my natural charms.

"Eric, you flirt just to see women fawn over you when you have no intention of giving them what they want," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm confused. I always give women what they want," I stated with a self-satisfied crooked grin.

"There you go with the sexual subtext again," shouted Hermione throwing her hands up into the air in frustration.

"You give women sex or you bite them because they're pathetic and they beg you to, but you don't give them what they really want."

"Women want sex. More than men these days," I mused casually, mystified that I'd somehow seen the day when women became hornier creatures than the externally endowed.

"And for the record, I don't bite pathetic females that beg for it. Usually. And when I have, I drain them so they'll stop getting on my nerves. Being a vampire doesn't mean you have everlasting patience."

Hermione stood in front of me shaking her head as if disappointed.

"They want _you_, stupid. You!" she yelled, bravely poking me in the chest with her tiny finger. I would have snapped it had it been anyone else's appendage, except for maybe Sookie, but it was Hermione and there was something about her that I quite liked.

I started to reply, but was distracted by a feeling of anger that was not my own. Sookie was distressed and getting closer. I started searching the stairs, waiting to see her appear. Hermione noticed where my gaze had strayed and the way my playful indifference suddenly shifted.

"It's Sookie again isn't it? She's in some kind of trouble I presume? And you're about to go running off to save her?"

Hermione's voice was understanding, kind even. It made me feel uncomfortable and out of my element when these humans got all…emotional. Anger, passion, lust: these were things I could understand. Compassion, affection? Not really my thing, you could say. However, I did have a curious soft spot for Sookie and admitted as much to Hermione.

"Feels more like a hard spot to me, but whatever you say," she whispered sarcastically.

I laughed lightly, still scanning the stairs for Sookie. "Who's spouting subtext now?" I jabbed distractedly. I could feel Sookie's anger compounding and getting closer every minute, but there was no sign of her physical approach.

Through my browsing, I noticed the red headed boy getting fumier the longer Hermione and I stood in the crowd. "We'll continue this conversation later, Hermione?" I gazed at her face while every other part of my being was entirely focused on Sookie's emotional presence.

Hermione shook her head with a tolerant, tiny smirk. "No, Eric…we won't. I think our conversation is finished. And so is whatever it is that's been going on between us."

"There is nothing going on between us." I countered. "Just having fun."

"Exactly," Hermione snapped. "You're just having fun, but I am not that kind of girl. I don't enjoy being toyed with." She took on a firm, but softer tone as she continued to explain. "I want what most other girls want, but I'm not willing to offer you my blood or my body for a single night to use and abuse as you see fit to help me get it. That's all, the end, case closed. Not to mention this obsession you have with Sookie. That's where your heart is - yes, your heart, stop looking at me as if you didn't know that you have one and go find the girl!"

"You're impatient aren't you?" I teased her for her exasperated tone near the end of her speech. She gave me an agreeing stare and I gave her a single, polite nod before I sped away to find Sookie. I could feel her approach, but it seemed she wasn't coming to me. I wondered who else she could have been running to.

A second later I was at her side as she stomped angrily toward the upper deck. Watching her face wrinkle in agitation was all the entertainment I needed, but I decided not to waste the opportunity to fire her up even more. "Why so cranky?" I taunted smoothly as I stepped into stride with her, seemingly out of nowhere. She didn't even flinch like she normally would have, so immersed was she in her own mind.

"I'm cranky because _someone_ invited Lorena on this God-forsaken cruise! You know…_Lorena_! Bill's crazy, sadistic, demented, bitch of a maker!"

That wiped the fun out of the situation for a moment, but I recovered quickly. "How would Lorena be on the ship now? She'd have to have been here the whole time…"

"Oh don't pretend you had no idea she was here Eric. I'm not naive enough to believe this whole thing wasn't propagated by you and Pam from the very beginning. She's in our room right now giving Bill her blood!"

"So, I planned that Bill would get himself roasted by magic I know nothing about and I then invited Lorena to come aboard the ship to heal the wounds that I knew he would obtain and not be able to recover from?" I asked incredulously.

"Oh shut up. When you put it that way it sounds ridiculous, but I know you had something to do with her being here."

I scoffed and gave Sookie a cocky crooked grin. "No, but I sincerely wish I were responsible for it. It's a genius plan, really. Get you pissed off at Bill and then a night or two later, I have no doubts that you would be seeking comfort in my silk sheets."

Disgusted, Sookie stormed off again. "Grow up, Eric." I kept pace with her far too easily which only seemed to irritate her further. "Where's Pam?" She snapped.

"At the party harassing Vampire Barbie, I'm sure."

Sookie glared at me with a question scrawled all over her flawless face, but she let her anger out-weigh her curiosity. "I'm sure she knows all about this and Eric, if she does, I'm telling you now I have silver spray in my purse and I will not hesitate to shower her with it."

That was too far. My fangs slipped out of their hiding place with a harsh click and I shoved Sookie against a wall to the right of the stairs atop which a party was in full swing. "You will do no such thing," I said softly and firmly. "If Pam knew of Lorena's presence aboard this ship, I would have, too. Threaten her again and you will regret it. I haven't eaten in a week and you smell absolutely mouthwatering."

Sookie, looking shaken but as foolishly brave as she usually is took a great big gulp of air and shoved me away from her. I could have made it impossible for her to move me, but angry as I was, I had no real desire to hurt her. "You wouldn't hurt me, Eric, and you know it. You forget; this bond we have? It works both ways." Haughty as ever, she made her way to the stairs.

Angry at her attempt to put me in my place - not to mention revolted by how soft I had become - I lunged at Sookie with undetectable speed, seized her around the waist with one hand and flew her to the darkness beneath the stairs. I whipped her hair away from her neck and in one fluid motion I sank my teeth into her delicious pale skin.

The taste of her blood, not to mention the experience of drinking it, was euphonious. If I haven't mentioned it before, let me say now that vampires have a serious weakness for fairy blood. It's like vampire crack; vampire crack that was impossible to find these days due to the fact that vampires had hunted fairies to near-extinction before the ones that were left decided it would be prudent for them to hide from the mortal realm. Vampire crack that just so happened to flow freely through Sookie's veins explaining her exquisitely delicious smell and the orgasmic taste of her blood. It might have even explained my ridiculous obsession with her…but no, that was more than just my vampiric sensory over-load. Oddly enough, I cared for Sookie on more than just an animalistic or lust-driven basis.

The realization that I might regret it if I did permanent harm to Sookie is what pulled me from my current enslavement to the taste of her blood. I both heard and felt her fight to pull herself free of me when before that moment, her fury and discomfort hadn't even registered across my radar. I forced myself to pull away from her neck, wiping the blood from my mouth as I went. I fought the urge to lick it from my fingers; after all, I have been alive long enough to be more dignified than all that.

"What the fuck, Eric! You almost killed me!" she raved.

"And yet you're able to maintain such a fiery reproach..from your deathbed no less," I said, heavy with sarcasm. "Don't be so dramatic, Sookie. If I wanted to kill you I would have," I heaved while rolling up my sleeve. I was preparing to offer Sookie a bit of my blood to heal the two puncture wounds in her neck, but she pushed my arm away with surprising strength for such a tiny (mostly) human girl.

"You're a bigger idiot than I thought if you think for one second that I'd willingly accept your blood for any reason - even imminent death!" Sookie spat with disgust. "I can't wait 'til this damned bond wears off and even I can't believe you're so full of yourself that you're trying to use this as an opportunity to chain me to you even longer! Sometimes I hate you, Eric Northman!"

She stormed off in a rage up the stairs, blood still trickling in tiny drops off her skin. I wanted to warn her that other vampires might get a whiff of her and decide to have a midnight snack, but she was too furious to let me get a word in. _I'll just let her see for herself_, I thought and went up the stairs to find a good seat from which to spy on her encounter with Pam.

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**Next Chapter coming VERY soon! Please comment if you missed me or if I pissed you off by not updating often enough. No matter what it is, I love hearing from you and the reviews keep me motivated to keep writing. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!**


	11. Chapter 10  Blood Loss

**See, told you it would be very soon! Two chapters in one day! :) I am working on Chapter 13 now, but it probably won't be published until after the new year. Enjoy and please, please review! :) If I still have any readers...thank you, thank you, thank you. You are seriously the most awesome people in the world!**

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**PC - Ch10**

**Blood Loss**

**~Sookie~**

"Pam! Come on over here you lesbian slut, I know you can hear me," I said more to myself, knowing that Pam would catch my words as if I'd yelled them over the crowd. I heard her voice come from behind me just seconds later.

"Lesbian slut? Who lit the fire under you're tampon, Sookie?" she said with just the same lack of care and concern as is characteristic to Pam.

"Lorena. Or you if you invited her here," I spat as I turned around to face Pam.

She smiled and then her smile transformed into a full-blown laugh, which for Pam is more of a light-hearted chuckle. "You think I invited that psychopathic vampire trash on a four week cruise that doesn't involve her being wrapped in sliver and soaked in sunlight every morning and then taken down to heal at night before we do it all again the next day? Whatever you're smokin', Sookie, stay the hell away from me with it because I don't want to inhale whatever fumes are makin' you delirious." She started to saunter away in her perfectly pink heels, but something stopped her. She turned slowly, for a vampire anyway, and took in a big breath of the air around her.

That is when I realized it may have been a grievous mistake not to let Eric heal me before I came up here to confront Pam.

"Sookie, you _do_ smell divine…what is that?"

Afraid to stir the air around me, I didn't move. Not even when Pam started inching closer and looking hungrier the closer she got. I began to reach for the silver spray in my purse, knowing that Eric was probably watching nearby and hoping he would intervene before the spray became necessary. Of course, Pam could eat me before I could get a single finger near that spray, but a girl's gotta try, right?

"Is that…fairy blood?" Pam asked as she tested the air. Or maybe she tasted the air…how the hell do I know?

"Now Pam…you might wanna stay back. You know Eric wouldn't like you takin' a bite outta me…" I stuttered. Funny how I was more afraid of Pam than I was of Eric. His fondness for me had gotten me out of a lot of sticky situations and while I knew Pam liked me, she would mournthe end of a pair of pumps longer than she would me.

_She would_, I heard in my head. It was Edward, agreeing wryly with my thoughts. _The last thing I need is to get chewed on again tonight_, I yelled back inwardly. I purposely replayed the incident with Eric in my mind so Edward could see it. He was surprised that Eric would do such a thing given his feelings for me, but at the same time I could sense that he understood Eric even better than I did so his actions were not as much of a mystery to Edward as they were to me, the girl with the blood bond to him. How ridiculous that the sparklepire would have a clearer grasp on one of my vampires than I did.

_Your vampire?_ Edward asked silently with unnecessary curiosity.

_Oh shut up and help me out will ya!_

Pam was offensively close now with her teeth bared, looking a lot more like a wild animal than the cynical, pink-clad Pam I was used to. Funny how no one else seemed to be paying attention to this deadly display.

Edward ran to my aid and whisked me up and away from Pam just milliseconds before she plunked her teeth down in the other side of my neck. He sat me down on a couch inside an abandoned cabin and kicked the door shut.

"You couldn't have done that a few seconds earlier!" I yelled.

"My apologies for assuming that 'your vampire' would come rescue you before my valiant services were rendered necessary. You do realize that you've taken me away from the celebration of my soon-to-be wife's successful transformation into a being with whom I can actually consummate my coming marriage without killing her?"

"Could you be anymore pompous?" I asked irritated.

"Could you be anymore self-righteous and stuck up?" he countered.

"I'm sorry Edward…I'm just on edge. Between Bill and his" - I spat the word - "_maker_, then Eric and Pam trying to make a fairy buffet out of me…"

"No apologies necessary. I understand. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did," Edward replied sincerely. I noticed he didn't apologize for calling me self-righteous, but you have to pick your battles sometimes.

"Thank you for gettin' me outta there."

Edward smiled graciously. "You're welcome. And you'll have to fill me on the fairy thing sometime…"

"Yeah," I breathed. "Sure thing." I started to feel a bit uncomfortable and wanted to be alone and even though I knew Edward would be able to tell right away what my motives were, I try to send him off as tactfully as possible. "You can go back to the party now. I know you're anxious to be with Bella."

"You're sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just a normal night for me, really. I'm just gonna head back to the room and fire my boyfriend. I'm sure he's better now anyway after drinking the magic maker-blood," I tried to joke. It was a feeble attempt, but Edward was polite enough to give me an appropriately-sized smile before he practically flew back upstairs.

I stood up, steeling myself to go back to Bill and, unfortunately, Lorena. Story of my life. Almost get killed, cue vampire rescue and then get up, dust off and go put myself in danger again.

**~Bill~**

"Sookie," I sighed with relief when she opened the door. I was just on my way out to go find her when she showed up. "I wasn't sure if you would return," I said stupidly.

"I wasn't either. Where's the bitch? I mean…Lorena?"

Embarrassed, I told her. "I took quite a lot of blood from her." Sookie knew that meant Lorena had run off to feed without my having to actually say the words.

Sookie nodded her head stiffly and her hair shifted just enough with the small motion that I was able to see the bit of dried blood encrusted on the side of her neck.

"What has happened to you, Sookie?" I demanded to know.

In a tired voice, she responded, "same old, same old. I have a smart mouth and Eric has an appetite."

"Eric did this to you?"

_There's your sign_, I thought to myself. Why do I always reiterate everything Sookie says? As if she'd read my thoughts, Sookie deemed it unnecessary to respond to my question so I went to her in an attempt to comfort her. Stubborn as ever, Sookie wouldn't let me. I was going to murder Eric, figuratively of course, but first I had to explain myself.

"Look, I didn't know Lorena was here, but as much as I hate it, you have to admit it was a good thing she was! Her blood is the only thing that could have healed me!"

"Maybe so, but that's kinda my problem," she said. I could tell there was a very long monologue on the way so I sat down on the edge of the bed to listen.

"She's here for you when you really needed her and that's great - I'm so unbelievably thankful that you're better now - but don't you see my problem? _She's here for you_. I couldn't heal you or help you in any way, but that dead whore swoops in and saves you with a gallon of blood? And you didn't hesitate at all! You just grabbed her and went to town like she was a Big Mac or somethin'."

"I keep thinkin' what if it's like me having your blood or Eric's? What if you feel tied to her even more than you already are? She's your maker for cryin' out loud! And she's stalking you! I wanted to blame Eric or Pam for her being here so I wouldn't have to think about her hiding behind the bushes watching every time we're together, but it's pretty obvious now that she's here of her own accord and she's been watching you. Watching us! And now she's healed you and she's gonna want somethin' in return and what the hell do you think she'll want, Bill?"

"What do you think she wants Sookie?" I asked, sensing that she just needed to rant to clear her head rather than actually wanting me to answer.

"There ain't too many options. She'll want you to leave me - or better yet, kill me! Or maybe she'll want you to leave with her and go who knows where and do who knows what and eat who knows who! Or maybe," she whispered dramatically, "she just wants you to fuck the shit out of her while I watch! Wouldn't that be fun!" Sookie yelled manically.

"Sookie, you're blowing this all our of proportion. I _hate_ Lorena and I agree that she'll want something for saving my life, but whatever it is she's not going to get it. And you're upset with me because I didn't refuse to drink Lorena's blood on the simple principle that I loathe her? It was either that or die. I actually tried to take enough blood from her to kill her," I joked, thinking it may lighten Sookie's mood. It didn't.

"Listen, I don't think it works the same way for vampires as it does humans when we give blood to one another because until tonight, I didn't even know it could be done. I thought I was going to die and now I feel wonderful, but I don't feel anymore attached to Lorena than I ever have. And if she's watching us, let her watch! Let her see how happy I am with you - it'll drive her mad," I smiled.

I visibly saw her shoulders loosen and her chest rise as she took in a gigantic breath that I don't think she realized she'd been holding. She let herself fall to the bed beside me and sink into my arms.

"I think I'm just goin' crazy. This blood bond with Eric was just the first step in makin' me think everybody is out to destroy our relationship. I guess I just keep wonderin' when it's gonna work. When will you finally stop lovin' me?"

Sure that it was a rhetorical question, I answered anyway. "Never," I said and I kissed the top of her head.

"Oh how sweet," Lorena cooed as she sauntered through the open door, loudly sucking a bit of blood off of the tip of her index finger. "I was wonderin' when I would get to see you, Sookie. You alright? You look a little pale."

"A dead woman callin' me pale. Right."

"Oh don't be so short-tempered. The least you could do is say thank you. I _did_ save Bill's life."

"I'm aware, thank you, get out," Sookie said in one short breath.

Lorena made a show of giving a coquettish grin and fluttering her eyelashes in some faux show of demureness. "Don't be silly. I'm on this cruise with you for the next three weeks so I'll go. But only because I know we'll be seeing each other again real soon."

"Just tell us what you want," Sookie sighed. Lorena looked as if she had no idea what Sookie was talking about; all a show of course. Lorena had always been quite the actress.

"Just spit it out. There is no likelihood whatsoever that you restored my health out of the kindness of you heart because you don't have one, Lorena. So what is it you want in return?" I said.

That must have gotten her attention because for the first time since she entered the room, she seemed to let her charade slip a bit. It showed in the slight dropping of the corners of her mouth and the slitting of her eyes. I knew her far too well not to be able to detect these slight differences in her no matter how quickly she recovered.

"I want you and your human to have a nice vacation. It may be your last one. Together, at least."

Sookie, unable to contain herself burst out with, "was that a threat you spiteful, dead bitch?"

Lorena effected her most perfect, nonchalant smile showing off all her pearly white teeth, including the tiniest hint of the edges of her fangs. "Absolutely not, darling." With that, she left Sookie and I alone to puzzle over the whole encounter.

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**Once again, Merry Christmas! xoxo**

**Reviews are more than welcome! Next chapter coming after the new year!**


	12. Chapter 11 - Sex For Breakfast

**I realize I haven't written on this in FOREVER, but I've been busy with kids and life in general. Writing took a backseat to reality. Assuming anyone is still reading this story, I hope you'll be glad to know I'm writing on it again. A friend of mine recently reminded me of it and inspired me to keep going. And for the love of all that is holy, I hope my writing has gotten at least a little bit better in the two years I've been away. ;)**

**Chapter 11**

**~ Elena ~**

"Some party, last night, huh?" I said to Damon as I saw him with his head planted against the polished wood of the bar, one hand lazily wrapped around a small glass of half-finished bourbon. If I didn't know better I'd think he had one hell of hang-over. I was walking up to the bar on the deck to see if they had any manner of edible breakfast food since apparently the leprechauns running the show only believed in serving dinner, but upon seeing Damon I momentarily forgot my quest for sustanance.

"Yes," he replied, raising his head and giving me his best fake grin. "I had a blast and there weren't even any sorority girls. Imagine that."

I rolled my eyes. "Stop it, Damon."

"Stop what?" he asked incredulously. "I haven't killed anyone in…too long. Oh wait, there was Bella. But that doesn't count because she's still kicking and according to her, I did her a solid. So…you should be really proud of me. Surely I deserve a naked hug?" He wiggled his eyebrows in that flirty way he reserved just for moments such as this; when he was trying to deflect me from wanting to have a real conversation with him.

"I am proud of you actually. You were really there for her. And honestly, I do think you did her a favor. I wouldn't want to spend an eternity as a vampire, but Bella? She seems better off for it. So you can stop drowning your sorrows in alcohol."

Damon looked at me like I had five heads. "Drowning my sorrows? That implies that I feel guilty about something. Guilt implies that I care and since Bella is clearly fine" - he gestured toward the opposite end of the deck where Bella was sitting at a cement table testing her new strength by arm wrestling various creatures while Edward and Emmett watched in approval - "I have nothing to feel guilty about. I'm sitting at this bar enjoying glass after glass of bourbon because there's not a single other thing for me do."

"So you're telling me that you're sitting here drinking because you're bored?" I asked, my voice dripping with disbelief.

Damon nodded his accession and added, "unless you'd like me to assuage my boredom in other ways. There's no one on this boat I'd expend the energy to kill so that leaves…sex." He gave me another slight eyebrow wiggle accompanied by his most charming half-smile. I couldn't help but notice the twinkle in his eyes and for only a second, I wanted to smile.

Just as I was about to tell him to cool it with his flirty comments and remind him of my commitment to his brother, he turned his head away from me toward a coquettish-looking woman with a carefully styled up-do who was just walking into the bar area wearing a silken blue evening gown. "And that was a great idea, Elena. I think I'll do that." He took a sip of his bourbon, handed me the glass and sauntered off toward his new conquest.

I was left standing at the bar staring after him feeling an unfamiliar pang of…what? Jealousy? No way. Surely I was just dreading what sort of mess Damon would get himself in with any woman that wakes up and puts on an evening gown at 8:30 in the morning and what Stefan would potentially have to do to get him out of it. Damon was better than he was allowing himself to be and it made me sad to see him withdraw and deflect every time someone started to see the good in him.

I smacked the glass down on the table and decided to leave Damon to his own devices. He was right; there were no sorority girls on the boat so the risk of human casualties was at a record low for him and he didn't seem to be in one of his diabolical moods so maybe I had no reason to worry. There was just something about his behavior that was a little off, I thought as I walked back to my and Stefan's cabin, forgetting all about my need for food. If Damon wasn't worried or feeling any guilt about Bella, then why was he being mopey?

"Mopey? How so?" asked a female voice from somewhere beside me. I looked around for Sookie knowing that she was the only one who could have heard what I thinking aside from Edward who was A.) not a female and B.) busy making bets on Bella. When I didn't see her anywhere I started to think I was just hearing things, but then she raised her hand up from a white lounge chair to my right. I walked over, laid back in the empty chair beside her feeling silly for laying in a lounge chair in jeans while Sookie sunbathed looking like a super-model in a tiny white bikini and matching shades. _Who looks like that this early in the morning?_

"Sorry, sometimes I don't know when to keep my mouth shut," she apologized.

I assured her it was okay and as I did, a vision of Damon day-drinking popped in my head of its own volition.

"But since I already opened my mouth, can I just say that day-drinking doesn't seem all that out of character for Damon? It just doesn't scream mopey to me. He's a little licentious maybe, but I wouldn't say he's mopey."

"Not yet. But this is how it starts with Damon. He's like a time-bomb. You just never know when he's going to explode," I explained.

"And why do you care so much if he explodes?" Sookie prodded.

I sighed and tried to think of how to word it. I knew what she was getting at, but I was tired of people hinting to me that I might have feelings for Damon. I cared for him because as annoying as he can be, I can see the good in him. He's my friend.

I knew Sookie lifted all that right out of my head, but I still elaborated aloud anyway because I wanted her to really believe me for some reason. "Because when Damon explodes bad things happen to the people around him. He doesn't just hurt himself in the process - he has to take as many people with him as he can manage. It's like he wants everyone to hate him. And I just don't want to give him the satisfaction," I smirked. "Seriously, he can be a good guy. I just want to see him be okay. I know that would make Stefan happy, too," I added.

"You know this isn't about Stefan." At the resentful look on my face Sookie quickly added, "I know you love him. I don't have to be a telepath to know that. But I don't have to be a telepath to figure out that you care for Damon in a little more than a friends sort of way either. Don't look at me like that! You don't want to admit it and I understand why - trust me, I have plenty of my own drama in that department - but sooner or later you're gonna have to face it. And then you'll have a choice to make."

Confused, I thought to myself, _between Stefan and Damon_? Well that was a no-brainer.

"On whether or not you're going to let Damon go. Let him be mopey or dangerous or a man-whore or whatever it is that Damon is or if you're gonna constantly keep reminding him of the good you see in him. It can be…misleading. Damon isn't the kind of guy who can just be friends with you, Elena. I can read his thoughts, too, ya know. You either let him go or you get in deeper."

I let her words mull around in my head for a second and then said, "sounds like you speak from experience."

"Now that is a whole other drama," she laughed. "I've had both Bill and Eric's blood which means I'm bonded to both of them. I love Bill, obviously, but the blood bond makes me have…specific and completely unwanted feelings about Eric. There are times when I'm not sure whether it's the bond or not, but then Eric does something particularly repulsive every time and it reminds me that there's no way I could ever have real feelings for him. I just have to wait for this stupid blood-bond to wear off. It's not something I can just turn off or walk away from."

"And if you could?" I asked.

"If I could, I honestly don't know what I'd do. I'd like to think I'd stay the hell away from Eric, sure," she chuckled, "but Bill? I love Bill, but he's put me through so much. I hate to say it, but my life was so much simpler when he wasn't a part of it. Not that it wouldn't have eventually gotten complicated anyway - fairy-blood, remember? - but there's a lot that could have been avoided if I'd never met him. Either of them. But when you love someone that much, it's harder to walk away."

"I kinda get that," I admitted. I turned my head toward the sky and laid a hand over my eyes to shield them from the recently-risen sun and let Sookie's words ring in my ears for a few minutes. A lot had happened to me since meeting Stefan, too, but given the chance would I take back all the happiness I'd experienced because of him just to keep all the bad stuff away? I'd like to think I wouldn't, but the fact that I didn't immediately have an honest answer struck me with a sense of profound clarity tinged with sadness. I had never thought of it before and now that I had, I was afraid it would be all I would think about.

And as far as Damon goes, I was kind of confused. He was my friend and that was all I really wanted out of our relationship. I cared about his well-being just like I would any of my friends. Was I really leading him on with that? Or was I kidding myself that there wasn't more to our relationship? Could I really walk away from him and let him self-destruct if he wanted to? And why was I sitting here thinking about Damon when he clearly wasn't thinking about anyone other than that girl whose dress was surely up over her head by now?

I let the thoughts slip away, deciding that Sookie was right and Damon was going to do what Damon was going to do regardless of if I sat here and worried about him or not. Plus, he was probably fine. Day drinking didn't indicate much about his demeanor except that he was on a cruise, trying to forget the past several days of stress we'd all been under on the cruise we were supposed to be enjoying. It was a vacation. Day drinking is what people do on vacations. And sex. People do that on vacations, too. _I should be doing that_.

I started to get up from my lounger and I saw Sookie turn her head in my direction. "See ya later, Elena. Tell Stefan I said hi. Or actually…don't. That might be an awkward time for my name to come up," she smiled.

I smiled at her in amused agreement, thanked her for the talk and made my way back to the cabin.

"No food?" Stefan asked.

"I decided on something else for breakfast," I replied as I stepped out of my converse sneakers toward Stefan and lifted my shirt over my head.


End file.
